• European football

Report says United lead DFL opposition

ESPN staff
March 14, 2013
Manchester United are reportedly against plans of the 'Dream Football League' © PA Photos
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Manchester United are reportedly leading a number of English clubs in opposing plans to introduce a "Dream Football League" (DFL) in Qatar, according to The Times.

A report in The Times on Wednesday suggested private Qatari investors have begun preliminary discussions to host a tournament featuring major European clubs every two years to rival the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

Although the Qatari FA denied any knowledge of the concept and there were claims to suggest the idea was a hoax by satirical French website Les Cahiers du Football, The Times reports that a number of clubs have been approached privately.

It is believed PSG "are known to be in favour" although the proposal "is yet to gain traction among European football's establishment".

The lucrative financial aspect could make the DFL alluring for a number of top flight clubs, but Manchester United, Arsenal and Bayern Munich are rumoured to be fervently against the competition as it would disturb their ties with the European Club Association (ECA).

A source told The Times that the ECA's visit to Doha for last month's general assembly was part of a warning against misguided expenditure in football and insisted "there would be real opposition" to the DFL: "People think that the sums of money being talked about can overcome every problem. In fact, the view of the top clubs would be that this kind of money would exacerbate problems."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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