即將在法國(guó)開戰(zhàn)的第十五屆歐洲杯賽，和往年大有不同，它要面對(duì)歐洲恐怖主義的威脅和歐足聯(lián)群龍無首的尷尬，肩負(fù)幫助法國(guó)足球重?zé)ü獠实娜蝿?wù)，還要為現(xiàn)今使用的賽制舉行一次完美的告別儀式。
2016年法國(guó)歐洲杯即將拉開帷幕，對(duì)這一賽事的期待也早已遍布?xì)W洲各地。多名來自具備參賽資格國(guó)家的選手希望為賽季的結(jié)尾畫上一個(gè)完美的句號(hào)，這無疑將鞏固他們?cè)诟髯試?guó)家隊(duì)的席位。
眼觀別處，歐洲杯的商業(yè)合作伙伴紛紛啟動(dòng)了贊助計(jì)劃，而球迷們也早已在賽事打響之前就開始消費(fèi)了。國(guó)家隊(duì)隊(duì)服是球迷必買的商品，但啤酒、外賣披薩、甚至新電視的銷量也會(huì)在賽事之前和賽事期間有所增長(zhǎng)。
過去的一些估計(jì)指出這一賽事會(huì)為歐洲帶來價(jià)值超過10億英鎊的經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)。
由于種種原因，這一屆的歐洲杯蘊(yùn)含著特殊的意義。這將是歐洲杯最后一次以現(xiàn)有的賽制舉辦。迄今為止，歐洲杯都由一個(gè)國(guó)家主辦（2000年除外）。而2020年的歐洲杯將在13個(gè)國(guó)家進(jìn)行，總決賽設(shè)置在倫敦的溫布利球場(chǎng)。
當(dāng)更改現(xiàn)有賽制的決議被采納時(shí)，當(dāng)時(shí)的歐洲足聯(lián)主席米歇爾·普拉蒂尼將它描述為獻(xiàn)給歐洲杯60年生日的浪漫禮物。但是從最近歐足聯(lián)吸引未來主辦國(guó)投資遇到的困難來看，我們能否再次看到歷史賽制被采用仍是存疑的。
然而2020年的賽制也贏得了一些人的口碑，特別是那些擔(dān)心歐洲足球會(huì)被少數(shù)國(guó)家控制的評(píng)論家們。在新的賽制下，歐洲杯對(duì)比賽在巴庫(kù)，布加勒斯特，畢爾巴鄂，都柏林這些城市舉辦的問題上將會(huì)更加公開民主。
作為世界體育頂級(jí)賽事之一，法國(guó)主辦的歐洲杯也將以下述原因而備受關(guān)注。時(shí)下，由于普拉蒂尼因在國(guó)際足聯(lián)的麻煩陷入禁足，歐足聯(lián)主席位置空缺。雖然普拉蒂尼在申訴撤銷禁令，但他很可能會(huì)缺席這屆歐洲杯。所以歐足聯(lián)在其主要賽事開展之際實(shí)際上是群龍無首。
緊隨著去年的巴黎恐怖襲擊事件和今年早些時(shí)候的布魯塞爾爆炸案，這屆的歐洲杯也將在恐怖主義威脅帶來的安全隱患下進(jìn)行。有些讀者肯定記得兩名自殺炸彈襲擊者曾試圖進(jìn)入當(dāng)時(shí)正在舉行法國(guó)隊(duì)和德國(guó)隊(duì)比賽的法蘭西體育館，并最終在體育館外引爆了炸彈。
賽事安全問題持續(xù)威脅著歐洲杯的舉辦，特別是在歐洲保持了其邊界開放和公民自由流動(dòng)政策的情況下。然而賽事的策劃者也堅(jiān)決要求如果有任何明顯的恐怖襲擊跡象，比賽將關(guān)門進(jìn)行---球隊(duì)正常比賽，但是球迷不得進(jìn)入場(chǎng)地。
即使沒有恐怖主義的威脅，歐足聯(lián)和法國(guó)策劃者所面臨的比賽管理方面的挑戰(zhàn)也是巨大的。這次的歐洲杯有24支參賽隊(duì)伍，而在2012年只有16支。所以，今年的歐洲杯將在10個(gè)不同的場(chǎng)地上進(jìn)行51場(chǎng)比賽。保證任何一場(chǎng)比賽的順利進(jìn)行都是極大的挑戰(zhàn)。
積極的一方面是，改制后的歐洲杯將會(huì)使得威爾士，阿爾巴尼亞和匈牙利這樣的國(guó)家有機(jī)會(huì)參與。這非常重要，因?yàn)樗鼣U(kuò)大了歐洲杯的預(yù)選賽區(qū)，使歐洲足球更為公平，某些世界級(jí)的巨星也將有機(jī)會(huì)出現(xiàn)在歐洲杯賽場(chǎng)上，比如加雷斯·貝爾（當(dāng)今世界上最昂貴球員）。
對(duì)法國(guó)來說，歐洲杯的舉辦在本國(guó)的足球發(fā)展進(jìn)程中顯得格外重要。十年前，法國(guó)足球甲級(jí)聯(lián)賽被認(rèn)為是歐洲排名前五的足球聯(lián)盟之一。從那之后，法甲一度落后于英超和西甲，甚至德甲和意甲也將法甲甩在了身后。法國(guó)足球相對(duì)的衰退從法國(guó)國(guó)家隊(duì)的表現(xiàn)來看尤為明顯---法國(guó)位于國(guó)際足聯(lián)世界排名的第21位。
在新投資的幫助下，法國(guó)希望承辦歐洲杯能進(jìn)一步刺激國(guó)家隊(duì)和法甲的再度崛起。舉辦歐洲杯已經(jīng)推動(dòng)了多處基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的建設(shè)，包括里昂和里爾的新體育館。這將為法國(guó)足球留下重要的遺產(chǎn)，尤其是這些設(shè)施將會(huì)給各俱樂部帶來創(chuàng)造新收入的機(jī)會(huì)，例如商務(wù)社交和非比賽日活動(dòng)。
同時(shí)法甲也正從新一代的老板中吸引投資，如果夏季的歐洲杯成功舉辦，這將對(duì)法甲更有利?？ㄋ栿w育投資對(duì)巴黎圣日耳曼足球俱樂部的收購(gòu)是最明顯的一個(gè)例子，同時(shí)索肖足球俱樂部被來自中國(guó)的投資者買走，而摩納哥足球俱樂部易主于一名俄羅斯寡頭。
雖然法國(guó)足球的遺產(chǎn)表明法國(guó)的足球俱樂部和國(guó)家隊(duì)尚有一些商業(yè)潛力，但這些新一代的老板們面臨著將其資產(chǎn)商業(yè)化的挑戰(zhàn)。盡管全世界人都知曉齊達(dá)內(nèi)和歐拉蒂尼的事跡，但是法國(guó)足球的確需要更為嚴(yán)格的管理。除此之外，法國(guó)也要著手應(yīng)對(duì)其最佳球員和管理者的轉(zhuǎn)會(huì)問題。
去年，恩戈洛·坎特是一個(gè)相對(duì)低調(diào)的球員，效力于法甲的低排位俱樂部卡昂。然而在以800萬(wàn)歐元的低價(jià)轉(zhuǎn)會(huì)萊斯特城后，坎特一飛升天成為了英超最耀眼的明星之一。同時(shí)，安托瓦內(nèi)·格里茲曼也成為了馬德里競(jìng)技進(jìn)軍歐冠決賽的重要人物。法國(guó)面臨的挑戰(zhàn)就是將這些明星留在本土以幫助推動(dòng)國(guó)內(nèi)聯(lián)賽發(fā)展。
伴隨著歐洲恐怖主義的威脅，歐足聯(lián)的過渡時(shí)期，以及法國(guó)足球急需的發(fā)展，今年的歐洲杯將會(huì)格外的惹人注目。當(dāng)大家都在期待這樣一項(xiàng)激動(dòng)人心的賽事上演時(shí)，我們也會(huì)密切關(guān)注球場(chǎng)外局勢(shì)的變化。
insisted that, should there be evidence ofa tangible terrorism threat, then matches will take place behind closed doors –the teams will play but fans won’t be allowed in.
Even without the threat of terrorism, theevent management challenges facing UEFA and the French organisers were always goingto be significant. This is an enlarged competition consisting of 24 teams; in2012, the tournament consisted only of 16 teams. As a result, this year therewill be 10 venues playing host to 51 matches. Protecting each of these will thoughbe a major challenge.
More positively, the re-formattedcompetition has enabled the likes of Wales, Albania and Hungary to qualify forthe Euros. This is important as it broadens-out the constituency of thetournament, which is important for egalitarianism in European football, andalso because some of the world’s biggest stars can now play in one of theworld’s biggest tournaments, Gareth Bale (the world’s most expensive player)being one example.
For France, the event comes at importanttime in the country’s football development. Ten years ago, Ligue 1 wasconsidered to be among Europe’s top-5 football leagues. Since then, it hasfallen behind the current top-2 (England and Spain) and even Germany and Italy.The relative decline of French football is symbolised by France’s national teamperformances – 21st in FIFA’s world ranking.
The French will be hoping that hosting thetournament further stimulates the gradual re-emergence of the country’s teamsand leagues, which has recently been stimulated by new investment. Hosting of theEuros has resulted in several new infrastructural projects being instigated,including new stadiums in Lyons and Lille. This will create an important legacyfor French football, especially as it creates opportunities for clubs togenerate new revenue streams from, for example, corporate hospitality andnon-match day conferences.
At the same time, the French footballleague is attracting investment from a new generation of owners, which could befurther stimulated if this summer’s event is a success. Qatar SportingInvestment’s acquisition of Paris Saint Germain is the most notable example ofthis, although Sochaux has been purchased by Chinese investors while Monaco isowned by a Russian oligarch.
While French football’s heritage indicatesthat its clubs and the national team have some commercial potential, this newbreed of owners faces a major challenge in commercialising its assets. Whilethe world is aware of Zidane and Platini, stronger management needs to develop.Alongside this, France must get to grips with the migration of its best playersand managers.
Last year, N’Golo Kante was a relativelylow profile player, appearing for lowly club Caen in Ligue 1. Havingtransferred to Leicester City for a very modest 8 million Euros, Kante has goneon to become one of the big stars of the English Premier League season. At thesame time, Antoine Griezmann has also been one of the stars of AtleticoMadrid’s run to the UEFA Champions League Final. The challenge for France is tokeep such stars at home so that they enhance the domestic league.
With Chinese football rising, Europeanterrorism threatening, UEFA in a period of transition and French footballneeding to develop, this year’s UEFA European Championship is likely to be anintriguing one. While we are all looking forward to an exciting tournament onthe field, many of us will be watching affairs off the field too.
作者簡(jiǎn)介：西蒙·查德威克，任教于英國(guó)索爾福德大學(xué)，被聘為“92班“教授，教授“體育企業(yè)”，“體育戰(zhàn)略”等課程。同時(shí)他還擔(dān)任2022卡塔爾世界杯研究項(xiàng)目主任。與西蒙·查德威克教授合作過的世界頂級(jí)體育組織包括巴塞羅那足球俱樂部、歐足聯(lián)、德國(guó)足球甲級(jí)聯(lián)賽、阿迪達(dá)斯、米其林、國(guó)際網(wǎng)球聯(lián)合會(huì)、德勤和Repucom。
Simon Chadwick is 'Class of 92' Professor of Sports Enterprise at Salford University Manchester and Director of Research for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. He has worked with many of the world's leading sports organisations including FC Barcelona, UEFA, the Bundesliga, Adidas, Michelin Motorsport, the International Tennis Federation, Deloitte and Repucom.
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聲明：文中觀點(diǎn)僅代表作者本人觀點(diǎn)，不代表懶熊體育。
