Spanish clubs firm on fairer share of TV rights money

Madrid: Spanish soccer club Sevilla President Jose Maria del Nido has said that a movement of clubs from the Primera Liga was unstoppable in its quest for a fairer distribution of television rights.

The presidents of 12 Primera Liga clubs -- Sevilla, Malaga, Racing de Santander, Valencia, Villarreal, Zaragoza, Osasuna, Athletic de Bilbao, Atleico de Madrid, Betis, Espanyol and Granada -- met in Seville Thursday to discuss what action they should take to alter the distribution of money for television rights for Spanish football. Del Nido has been the loudest critic of a system which sees Spain`s clubs negotiate individual TV deals and which gives FC Barcelona and Real Madrid around 100 million Euros more per year than any other club in Spain and up to 10 times more money than some in the category. The `big two` have finished over 20 points ahead of their nearest rivals in the past two seasons and with both kicking off this season with easy wins, the fear is that the Spanish League is no longer competitive. Del Nido didn`t invite either Real Madrid President Florentino Perez or Barcelona`s Sandro Rosell to this Thursday`s meeting and although some clubs such as Rayo Vallecano, Getafe and Mallorca were not represented, their respective presidents, had said they agreed with del Nido`s desire for change. "There is no way backwards for this movement now. We reached the conclusion that we either have to continue on this road to stop the lack of competitiveness or else there is no solution for football," said Del Nido after the meeting Thursday. "It is our irrevocable objective to continue with these meetings in which the other sides of the Primera Liga and also the Second Division (Liga Adelante), will also be invited," he said. The Sevilla president insisted that the objective was not to break or re-negotiate current deals, but to work for a fairer distribution of wealth in the future. IANS