Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli proposes subscriptions for last 15 minutes of matches
The Italian has discussed revamping European football including an ‘ideal’ new-look Champions League
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European Clubs Association chairman Andrea Agnelli has floated the idea of offering fans the opportunity of “a subscription for the last 15 minutes” of matches to compensate for “the attention span of today’s kids”.
The primary topic for discussion as 184 of Europe’s top clubs joined ECA’s 25th general assembly on Monday was revamping the Champions League, with a Swiss-style system gaining traction.
However, the Juventus chief is also conscious of engaging the next generation of fans by offering a revolutionary way for fans to stay up to date with the highest end of the sport amid growing competition around the world, without the commitment of spending approximately two hours taking in a game.
“We could imagine a subscription for the last 15 minutes of a specific game,” Agnelli said.
READ MORE: New Champions League format to be finalised within ‘next couple of weeks’
“The attention span of today’s kids and tomorrow’s spenders is completely different to the one I had when I was their age.
“If you take golf, if it’s interesting at all, it’s only the last six holes on the final day. You are not going to watch the whole thing on the TV unless you are a hardcore fan.”
The new format of the Champions League could coincide with scrapping financial fair play in its current format too, with the ECA discussing an extreme change to the transfer system between Champions League clubs, who would stop buying or selling to each other and only do business with lower-ranking clubs.
READ MORE: Premier League could reduce number of teams under plans for new-look Champions League
“No triple-figures transfers between Champions League participating clubs maybe would [mean] focusing instead on champion players in smaller countries allowing us only to buy players there,” Agnelli added.
“These are elements we are discussing but certainly cost control will be one of the biggest challenges in terms of reforms going forward.”
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