Plans were announced in the past week for a revitalised structure to the English Football League, from the Championship down, by the 2019/20 season.
The idea is to standardise the whole pyramid in line with the Premier League, with reduced divisions of 20 teams, and add a “League 3”, comprising teams from the current League 2 and the first tier of the present non-league system, the Vanarama National League.
Among that news, however, an old spectre has floated into view: the prospect of this being a logical juncture for Scotland’s undisputed dual leviathans, the bitter Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers, to finally enter the English football system.
It has been a tumultuous few years for top-flight football in Scotland since Rangers dissolved in a bog of financial foul-ups that led to their demotion to the fourth tier of Scottish football in 2012.
That debacle has left Old Firm rivals Celtic to push on unopposed in the Premiership, unsurprisingly cruising to four titles in the four seasons since Rangers fell off a footballing cliff.
But that dark period now has very real light at the end of the tunnel: last month, Rangers confirmed their promotion to the Premiership for the 2016/17 season. One of the greatest rivalries in world football is back on.
We have been here before with the potential Scottish invasion of England. Rangers’ former chief executive Charles Green — the kindest way to describe him is a “divisive figure” — previously openly declared ambitions to shift the blue half of Glasgow into the English leagues.
That was back in the grim days of 2013 when the newco Rangers club were facing plans to condense the existing four Scottish divisions into three, a move that would have consigned the then-Division 3 leaders to another season in the basement division.
So far, so normal, until Green began claiming he would test any attempts to block such a move under European sex-discrimination legislation (weirdly, there’s some legal logic behind such outlandish statements — a Uefa-sanctioned cross-border professional women’s league used to exist in Belgium and the Netherlands).
He might also point to the involvement of Welsh teams in the English pyramid, or even to Berwick Rangers, a club located so far in the north of England that they opted to play in the Scottish leagues. The headlines nevertheless made for another fittingly lurid moment in a colourful chapter of Scottish football.
Among the purists flapping that it’s just not cricket — or lower-league football — let’s consider the wider picture. With so many clubs struggling to make ends meet below the Premier League, it might just rescue lower-league professional football in England as we know it.
Celtic and Rangers consistently post crowds of 45,000 to 50,000. Rangers were even achieving this in the lower leagues for visits of such footballing titans as Montrose and Peterhead. More pertinently, they take thousands of travelling supporters around the country to their away fixtures.
While Scotland’s lower leagues are ordinarily frequented by laughably low crowds, the same cannot be said at a similar level in England. The mooted new League 3 would represent the lowest fully pro division in the country, but would doubtless include numerous clubs that regularly welcome 4,000 to 5,000 fans.
There’s already solid fan bases, then, but it’s still a cash-strapped landscape. Annual wage bills often equal a month’s take-home of a top Premier League player.
Imagine the impact the Old Firm’s high-profile, unprecedented border-crossing transfer deal could make. It’s conceivable that record-breaking gates around the grounds of Leagues 1, 2 and 3 could follow as the Old Firm progressed up the English footballing ladder, swelling previously barren coffers en route.
Faithful fans around England (and Wales) might balk at the thought of away-day travel expenses to reach Celtic Park or Ibrox. But if it could help the often-precarious bank balances at the clubs they love potentially tipping into the black, it would be a small price to pay, quite aside from the excitement of experiences crowds tenfold larger than they ordinarily experience.
If it happens, Scotland could be an unlikely saviour of English lower-league football.
aworkman@thenational.ae
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UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
'Falling%20for%20Christmas'
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Price, base: Dh198,300
Engine: 2.0L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 280hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,200 metres
Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Younis Kalbani (trainer)
5.30pm: UAE Arabian Derby (PA) | Prestige | Dh150,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Octave, Gerald Avranche, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round 3 (PA) | Group 3 Dh300,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Harrab, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Ali
6.30pm: Emirates Championship (PA) | Group 1 | Dh1million | 2,200m
Winner: BF Mughader, Szczepan Mazur, Younis Al Kalbani
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (TB) | Group 3 | Dh380,000 | 2,200m
Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) | Conditions | Dh70,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF La’Asae, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
