The magic of football lies in its power of surprise which allows a passionate person from an amateur club to rise to the rank of a great player. From Kylian Mbappé, having put on his first crampons at AS Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis), passed through the National Football Institute of Clairefontaine (Yvelines) and finally became the world famous player of Paris-Saint-Germain in Raymond Kopa, son of a Polish immigrant, native of Nœux-les-Mines, in the working-class lands of Pas-de-Calais and emblematic figure of Real Madrid, these players had the opportunity to make their dream a reality through a system virtuous that combines four essential values: solidarity, inclusion, loyalty and respect.
It is clear that this pyramid model, ranging from amateur football to professional football, works. On the one hand, it anchors, through financial redistribution, solidarity in its operation and its principles. On the other hand, by opening up competitions, it defines the only path that leads to success, which is sporting merit. For all players, from different worlds, this European sporting model is the guarantor of their dream.
This dream is made possible by a system which, through the success of some, feeds that of others. This dream embarks millions of young people towards the practice of football. This dream is so big that the free access to the game and the meritocracy offer the opportunity for small town clubs like FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, EA Guingamp or RC Lens to participate in European competition. This dream is indefinable but bequeathed from generation to generation by the passion and emotion that football arouses.
Merit creates uncertainty
Some have threatened this dream made possible by the European sports model. It is our duty, we football lovers, to protect it. Safeguarding it is crucial to sustaining the fundamental values of sport as a collective good that unites Europeans around football.
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The European Super League project abandons merit and performance. It confiscates deserving clubs access to the magic of major European competitions. It is obvious that sporting merit creates uncertainties. But the latter are at the very origin of our emotions, of our passion. In addition to the duly deserved places, this project aims to monopolize income and widen the inequalities between the big clubs and the most modest.
Football and sport in general are intended to be universal. Consequently, sport must guarantee openness to the world and not withdrawal into oneself. The European sports model is a fervent defender of this. This model is part of European law. European football must constantly evolve and find harmony in order to define it. To achieve this, it is essential to continue the dialogue with the actors and the European political authorities. Thus, the European model will continue to move in the right direction by guaranteeing a balance between Community, social values and economic structures.
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