Is The Ascent of Saudi Football About to Push Football ‘In a New Direction?’

According to Dariusz Mioduski, the European Club Association (ECA) vice-chair, the Saudi football boom has changed the football landscape in Europe.

According to the Guardian, there has been an urgent need for a response from Europe to combat the rising power of Saudi football, especially the disruptive impact of its spending power.

Mioduski said, “Perhaps in a way what has happened with Saudi investment into football is actually positive,” He added, “It’s making a lot of people realize that football is becoming too much about money.”

The smaller clubs in Europe are especially vulnerable to the financial muscle shown by the Saudi Pro League. Mioduski indicated, “Those of us in smaller clubs, smaller leagues, we’ve been saying this for a while. This is a real issue in European football that there is such a concentration of money in a few leagues, particularly the Premier League, but not only there. In the past we could say easily that football was not about money. Today we can say that money is the primary factor, the primary component in success.”

This is the latest evidence of the likely response in the medium- and longer term among clubs and football bodies in European football as they grapple with dealing with the Saudi Pro League and their ascendant power.