Pablo Longoria, Olympique de Marseille president, has spoken strongly and clearly saying that French football is at a crossroads that needs a radical approach to solve deep structuring problems on the domestic streaming and revenue distribution, as well as league governance. Just re elected to the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) board, Longoria has demanded radical modernization, a unified front among clubs and interests pursuing a risky new course of action to balance Ligue 1.
The Broadcasting rights deal
The heart of the matter with Longoria is the abject failure of TV rights to be deals to pay off in the 2024 to 2029 cycle where paying out a mere 500 million per season, which is a pitifully low figure of what was originally dreamt of as the 1 billion at the height of the TV rights deal frenzy formerly. LFP president Vincent Labrune has promised to halve his 1.2 million euro yearly income as well as forego a sign off bonus worth 5.4 million euros as Labrune tries to salvage the situation.
Different sponsorship deals
Further, Longoria cited mass discontent over a 16.4 million euro sponsorship deal known as the ‘Visit Qatar’ that was negotiated by the ruling body of the League that was strongly opposed by clubs such as Marseille and Lyon. The critics state that the transaction undermines the integrity of the league and financial independence of Qatar Sports Investments which is backed by PSG.
Marseille is not different since many clubs survive on the revenues collected through the broadcasts of Ligue 1. However, the insufficiency of such revenues, despite having the biggest media producer as the flagship broadcaster, jeopardizes the financial sustainability of clubs to leave the Parisian bright light. Longoria sees the potential to redesign a renewed Ligue 1, with stadiums updated, a feature of contemporary infrastructure, and an updated, digitized form of fan involvement, strengthened by the support of such partners as CVC Capital.
His rallying cry underscored the necessity that the steady qualification of European clubs other than PSG is the important aspect of elevating Ligue 1 into the visual and commercial value. Failure to carry out such reforms would make the league even more behind competitors in Europe.
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