UEFA All-Star Game in European football

Dr Pawel Dimow

 

          Sports fans enjoy watching star players in action and the presence of such players in any game guarantees high level of interest. Noticing this fact, the Americans created a concept called “All-Star Game” in the 1930s and are still capitalizing on this idea. The first such game was organized by the Major League Baseball in 1933 and as it turned out to be a great success, it was soon adopted by the other American professional sports leagues. Later, the All-Star Game spread around the world and became a must-see event for millions of sports fans.

          The concept of organizing exhibition matches featuring star players from different clubs and countries is not unfamiliar to the European football, too. These matches, however, have own regulations and differ from one another. They are mainly not played on a regular basis (although there are some annual ones) and are usually organized for social and charity purposes, or as a farewell game of retiring star players. The success of these games shows that staging a regular All-Star Game in European football should be considered by UEFA. Interestingly, the governing body of European football already backs a similar annual “Match Against Poverty”, which regularly features the two retired stars and Goodwill Ambassadors for the United Nations Development Programme Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo. Moreover, in 2005, FIFA and UEFA organized a charity “Football for Hope” match in Barcelona to raise funds for the relief efforts after the disastrous Tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in the end of 2004. Team of European stars captained by Andriy Shevchenko faced a team of non-European stars led by Ronaldinho and the game enjoyed a significant success.

 

Format of the UEFA All-Star Game

 

          In order to attract a large global interest, the UEFA All-Star Game should involve the best and most popular football players who compete in Europe. According to me, the best possible format of the match is Europe vs. Rest of the World. This means that a side comprising Europe-based players who are eligible to play for a European national team faces a side of players who play for European clubs but are eligible to represent a non-European national team.

          As the designation “All-Star Game” is well known globally and has a very positive reputation, UEFA may brand the event “UEFA All-Star Game”. If, however, UEFA decides to implement a different marketing strategy, the match may be called “UEFA All-Star Match”, “UEFA Match of the Stars”, “UEFA Star Game” or “UEFA Stars Game”, etc. In this paper, I will use the term “UEFA All-Stars Game”.

          The UEFA All-Star Game will be an event designed especially for the football fans around the globe and they should receive the opportunity to vote for the players they want to see in it. The voting will be conducted under the following rules:

 

• Using the classic 4-4-2 formation (1 goalkeeper, 1 left back, 2 centre backs, 1 right back, 1 left midfielder, 2 central midfielders, 1 right midfielder and 2 forwards), fans will select a First Team and a Second Team for both Europe and Rest of the World on uefa.com. Each fan will be allowed to submit only one selection of 22 Europe players and 22 Rest of the World players. The first teams will play in the first half and the second teams will perform after the break. As a result, every footballer will only see 45 minutes of action. The players with most First Team votes on each position as well as the second highest vote-getters on the centre back, central midfielder and forward positions will receive a First Team place. With the exception of the centre back, central midfielder and forward positions, the second highest vote-getters on each position will qualify for the Second Team. Third and Fourth highest vote-getters on each of the centre back, central midfielder and forward positions will be also selected in the Second Team. If two players are tied at the first place on their position then the one with more Second Team selections will have the advantage. If they have the same amount of Second Team selections, the advantage will be decided by a draw. Similarly, if two players are tied at the second place on their position, the one with more First Team selections will have the advantage. If the number of First Team selections is the same for both players, the advantage will be determined by a draw.

 

• Fans will make their selection from a ballot prepared by UEFA and published on uefa.com. As far as the Europe team is concerned, the ballot will contain 220 players – 20 goalkeepers, 20 left backs, 40 centre backs, 20 right backs, 20 left midfielders, 40 central midfielders, 20 right midfielders and 40 forwards. In order to stimulate the interest in the UEFA All-Star Game in all European countries, at least one player from every country should be placed on the ballot. Similarly to the voting for the uefa.com users’ Team of the Year, every player on the ballot should have a short description of his qualities and achievements. It is important to have players from more different countries and in order to achieve this diversity fans will only have the opportunity to take a maximum of 4 players from one country in their 22-man selection. And the maximum number of players that a country can have in the 22-man Europe team is 4.

 

• Due to the fact that the number of players who play in European clubs and are eligible to play for a non-European national team is lower, the ballot of the Rest of the World team will be shorter. It will contain 110 players – 10 goalkeepers, 10 left backs, 20 centre backs, 10 right backs, 10 left midfielders, 20 central midfielders, 10 right midfielders and 20 forwards. It is well known that vast majority of the star footballers of non-European nationality who play in European football clubs come from South America and Africa. However, in order to attract the attention of fans, sponsors and TV channels from all the continents, the Rest of the World All-Star ballot for every position should include at least 1 representative (2 for each of the centre back, central midfielder and forward positions) of each South America (CONMEBOL), Africa (CAF), Asia (AFC), North and Central America (CONCACAF). Fans will be required to select at least 2 representatives of each of the above mentioned 4 FIFA Confederations in their 22-man Rest of the World selection and at least 2 players from each of these continents (those with most votes) will play in the UEFA All-Star Game. Just like the Europe team, fans will be able to pick up to 4 players from a single country and no more than 4 players will represent a country in the Rest of the World All-Star team. As Australia is now an AFC member and the Oceania footballers who play in Europe are very few, fans will not be obliged to select an Oceania player in their selection. However, no continents should be ignored and I suggest placing at least 2 OFC players who play for European clubs in the 110-man ballot for the Rest of the World All-Star team.

 

• If the score is a draw at the end of second half, the winner will be decided by a classic penalty shootout.

 

• Fans will also have the chance to select the coaches of both teams. For this purpose, UEFA should prepare a Europe ballot with 20 European coaches and a Rest of the World ballot with 10 non-European coaches. All coaches on both ballots must work in Europe. The coaches with most fan votes on both ballots will coach the two teams in the UEFA All-Star Game.

 

• Moreover, fans will also decide who will be the referee of the UEFA All-Star Game. They will make their choice from a ballot which will contain the names of 20 European referees and will be prepared by UEFA. The leading vote-getter will be awarded with the honour to referee the UEFA All-Star Game.

 

          In order to present what kind of players would participate in the UEFA All-Star game and how attractive it would be, I am attaching my own selection of the two teams for the 2012/13 season:

 

 

 

 

          The above selection is not only based on the form of the players in the current season but also on their global popularity. Some players may not be in their best form but due to their popularity they would still be selected by the fans.

          It should be analyzed what kind of candidates we have for each position. If there are many stars on a certain position and not so many on another one, we can move some players from the list of candidates for the first position to the ballot for the second position. The moved players, however, should be known for being able to play both positions.

 

UEFA U23 All-Star Game

 

          The UEFA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday evening but it will not be the only football event during the weekend in the host city. In order to maximize its economic and social effect, the UEFA All-Star Game should be accompanied by supporting football activities and events which will start on Friday evening and last until Sunday evening. This period of time will be branded as “UEFA All-Star Weekend” and its second major event will be the “UEFA U23 All-Star Game”. This match will be played on Saturday evening and will be conducted under the same rules as the UEFA All-Star Game with the difference that it will feature only players who are 23 years old or younger. More precisely, to be eligible to play in the UEFA U23 All-Star Game in 2013, players need to be born on or after 1 January 1990.

          Fans will select the Europe and Rest of the World players for the UEFA U23 All-Star Game by submitting their votes on uefa.com. The Europe U23 ballot will contain 110 players - 10 goalkeepers, 10 left backs, 20 centre backs, 10 right backs, 10 left midfielders, 20 central midfielders, 10 right midfielders and 20 forwards. Every European country should have at least one representative among the nominated 110 players.

          Due to the fact that there are not so many established non-European U23 players who play for European clubs, the Rest of the World U23 ballot will be shorter. It will contain 55 players – 5 goalkeepers, 5 left backs, 10 centre backs, 5 right backs, 5 left midfielders, 10 central midfielders, 5 right midfielders and 10 forwards. Each of South America (CONMEBOL), Africa (CAF), Asia (AFC), as well as North and Central America (CONCACAF) will have at least 5 representatives among the 55 nominated players while Oceania (OFC) will have at least 1.

          As it was the case with the UEFA All-Star Game, fans will only select up to 4 players from a single country and no more than 4 players from the same country will play in the UEFA U23 All-Star Game. Fans will also have to pick up at least 2 players from each of the 4 continents – South America, Africa, Asia as well as North and Central America. Each of these continents will be represented by at least 2 players in the UEFA U23 All-Star Game.

          The two coaches who have finished as runners-up in the voting for the UEFA All-Star Game will coach the Europe U23 and Rest of the World U23 teams. Similarly, the referee with second most votes will take over the UEFA U23 All-Star Game.

          As the UEFA U23 All-Star Game will feature an impressive cast of young stars, I believe it will be a very entertaining one and very well accepted by the football fans worldwide. Below I present my selection of the two teams for the 2013 UEFA U23 All-Star Game:

 

 

 

 

UEFA Veteran All-Star Game

 

          The third pillar of the UEFA All-Star Weekend will be a match featuring star players from the near past. It will be played on Friday evening and will be branded as “UEFA Veteran All-Star Game”. In order to improve the quality of football in this match, the participating players should have finished their professional careers recently and should be in a similar good physical condition. For this purpose age restrictions will be introduced. All players need to be born in a 5-year period of time and should be aged between 37 and 42. For the 2013 UEFA Veteran All-Star Game, the eligible players should be born between 1 January 1971 and 31 December 1975. Furthermore, they should have ended their professional careers in the previous season at the latest. Setting the 37-42 age restriction means that every year we will have changes in the squads as some of the players will no longer be eligible for selection while others will become eligible. Refreshing the teams is vital if we want to keep the high interest in the UEFA Veteran All-Star Game for many years.

          Fans will be making their selection from two ballots posted on uefa.com. Similarly to the Europe U23 All-Star ballot, the Europe Veteran All-Star ballot will consist of 110 players - 10 goalkeepers, 10 left backs, 20 centre backs, 10 right backs, 10 left midfielders, 20 central midfielders, 10 right midfielders and 20 forwards. Every European country will have at least one representative among the nominated 110 players.

          Retired non-European players who have played professionally for European clubs for at least 3 full seasons will be eligible for selection in the Rest of the World Veteran All-Star team. Due to the fact that their number is lower, the Rest of the World Veteran All-Star ballot will be shorter and will contain 55 names - 5 goalkeepers, 5 left backs, 10 centre backs, 5 right backs, 5 left midfielders, 10 central midfielders, 5 right midfielders and 10 forwards. Each of South America (CONMEBOL), Africa (CAF), Asia (AFC), as well as North and Central America (CONCACAF) will have at least 5 representatives among the 55 nominees while Oceania (OFC) will have at least 1.

          The restriction of 4 players from a single country and the minimum of 2 representatives of each of CONMEBOL, CAF, AFC and CONCACAF are valid for the UEFA Veteran All-Star Game as well.

          The two coaches who have finished third in the voting for the UEFA All-Star Game will coach the Europe Veterans and Rest of the World Veterans. Similarly, the referee with third most votes will be appointed to officiate the UEFA Veteran All-Star Game.

          Both Europe and Rest of the World veteran teams will have plenty of fan favourites in their ranks and the match between them should attract significant global interest. In order to demonstrate what kind of players will play in the 2013 UEFA Veteran All-Star Game, I am attaching my selection of the two teams:

 

 

 

 

          As far as the venue of the UEFA All-Star Weekend is concerned, the candidate host cities should apply together with their national football association. The UEFA All-Star Game, as the main event, should be staged at a Category 4 stadium with a minimum capacity of 50,000 seats. Due to the fact that the UEFA All-Star Weekend will have 3 matches in 3 consecutive days, in order to maintain the pitch in a good condition for the main event and promote other venues in the host city, I recommend staging at least one or even both of the UEFA U23 All-Star Game and UEFA Veteran All-Star Game at another stadium/stadiums in the host city. These stadiums should also be of Category 4 and have a capacity of at least 20,000 seats. A possibility of staging one of the events in a nearby city may also be considered.

          There are a couple of possibilities of when to stage the UEFA All-Star Weekend and there are some issues that should be taken into consideration when making the decision. Most importantly, due to the fact that UEFA All-Star Weekend will have an official Fan Zone with a number of all day long open-air activities for the fans, it will be much better to have warmer weather and longer days. This eliminates winter as a possible time for the UEFA All-Star Weekend. Furthermore, in order to achieve best economic and social results, the UEFA All-Star Weekend should be organized in the time of the year when interest in football is highest. This time is late spring when most of the domestic leagues and European club competitions enter their decisive phase. Another argument in favour of late spring is the fact that the UEFA All-Star Game is supposed to feature the best players of the season. Players should have played the bigger part of the season so the fans can judge them objectively while making their selections. Taking all these facts into consideration, I would like to suggest staging the UEFA All-Star Weekend in mid-April, just after the quarterfinal second legs of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. In the case of the 2013 UEFA All-Star Weekend, it should take place on Friday 12^th (UEFA Veteran All-Star Game), Saturday 13^th (UEFA U23 All Star-Game) and Sunday 14^th April 2013 (UEFA All-Star Game). We may have a situation in which a U23 player plays in the UEFA Europe League quarter final second leg on Thursday 11^th April and is selected to participate in the UEFA U23 All-Star Game 48 hours later. In this case, the player may play less than 45 minutes on Saturday in order not to be overloaded. This will not be an extraordinary situation, as it sometimes happens that clubs play domestic league matches on Saturday after featuring in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

          In order to focus the whole football attention on the UEFA All-Star Weekend and maximize the profits from its organization, no other domestic top flight matches should be played in Europe during that weekend. These domestic fixtures should be played on the next Wednesday.

 

Arguments in favour of the UEFA All-Star Weekend

 

          I believe that an annual UEFA All-Star Weekend will largely benefit European football and will try to point out the major arguments in its favour:

 

• According to nba.com, the 2012 NBA All-Star Game was broadcast in 215 countries and territories and in over than 44 languages. It was covered by more than 1800 media, including 336 international reporters. Basketball similarly to football is a sport which is very popular around the globe and the world’s best basketball players play in North America while the world’s best footballers play in Europe. NBA cleverly uses the global image of its stars and collects huge profits from the organization of the NBA All-Star Game which has become one of the most recognizable basketball events in the world. In my opinion, UEFA can adopt this concept and stage its own All-Star Game. Due to larger global popularity of football, it has the potential to become an even bigger global success than the NBA All-Star Game.

 

• The UEFA All-Star Weekend with the best footballers of the past, present and future will be a wonderful occasion to promote football on a global scale. It will also increase the global interest in European football and its major international competitions – UEFA EURO, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

 

• Currently, the most popular and profitable football games organized by UEFA are the final matches of the Champions League and the European Championship. In my opinion, the UEFA All-Star Game accompanied by a clever marketing campaign may come close to these games in terms of attracting global audience and generating profits. It should be a great success especially in South America as the Rest of the World team will be logically comprised mostly of players from this continent (Brazil and Argentina in particular). UEFA can benefit from the fact that football is a religion in this part of the world and football rivalry with Europe has always been being something special for the local fans. Furthermore, the fact that every continent will be represented by at least two players will contribute to the global success of the UEFA All-Star Game.

 

• Numerous high-profile companies will be willing to pay significant fees for the right to be UEFA Official Partners for the UEFA All-Star Game. Television channels will also be ready to spend a lot of money for the broadcasting rights as the UEFA All-Star Game will attract an enormous global audience.

 

• The UEFA All-Star Game will generate considerable gate revenues as no matter where it is played, the stadium will probably always be full. Further income from the sale of tickets will come from the UEFA U23 All-Star Game and the UEFA Veteran All-Star Game.

 

• Profits can also be made from selling licensed products like shirts, caps, balls (a new official UEFA All-Star ball should be produced every year), computer games and many other items with the UEFA All-Star Game logo.

 

• UEFA.com will receive a huge traffic when fans from all over the world will be selecting the players they want to see during the UEFA All-Star Weekend. The users of the official website of the governing body of European football submitted 4.5 million votes to determine their Team of the Year 2011 and I expect this number to be much higher when it comes to selecting the All-Star players. By voting for their Team of the Year, fans vote for a team on paper (a team they will never see in action) while by voting for the All-Star teams, fans will know that they are creating real teams which will soon perform for them. That is why I think the fans will be even more interested in voting for the All-Star Teams rather than for their Team of the Year, which is a great initiative, too. The voting for the UEFA All-Star Weekend participants will attract many new users to uefa.com and due to the high quality of the website there is a good chance that a significant percentage of these new users will become regular ones. Furthermore, some of the current uefa.com users may start visiting the website more often.

 

• The UEFA All-Star Game will have a great success especially among the children, who will be absolutely delighted to participate in the selection of the squads and watch a match that will feature so many of their favourite star players. Such a game will strengthen and increase the passion and love of the kids for the game of football.

 

• Nowadays, we often hear complaints that the football fixtures are overloaded and the idea of launching a new football event may face an opposition. Let me remind that from the 1999/00 until the 2002/03 season we had a UEFA Champions League with 2 group stages. Back then, elite clubs played 4 more matchdays than they do now with the current format of the competition (6 group matches instead of the present double-leg Round of 16). As we are now having 4 less matchdays in the UEFA Champions League, we will be able to find time and integrate the UEFA All-Star Weekend into the current football schedule.

 

• Footballers will only play 45 minutes in the All-Star Game and they will not be overtired from participating in it. As the 3 All-Star matches will be mainly for fun, the risk of picking up an injury will also be significantly lower.

 

• The UEFA All-Star Game will be a wonderful occasion for many football people from around the world to gather together in a friendly and pleasant atmosphere.

 

• A large part of the revenues generated by the UEFA All-Star Weekend should be used for charity and social purposes like helping former footballers who are now ill or live in poverty, developing football projects in the poorer European countries, promoting football and education among children and young people, etc. Such noble initiatives will increase the popularity of UEFA and will create an excellent social image of the organization.