The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
‘We deserve Europe spot’
Dons chief says top Scottish teams deserve reward for efforts
Aberdeen vice-chairman Dave Cormack believes the leading clubs in Scottish football deserve to be rewarded with regular European football every season.
Uefa is exploring the introduction of a third European club competition while Europe’s leading clubs are investigating the possibility of forming a breakaway super-league.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has warned any player taking part in a breakaway league would be banned from the World Cup if they took part.
While the future of the elite clubs in Europe remains unclear Dons director Cormak, 59, believes his club, and the other leading teams in Scotland, are deserving of having their efforts within their own league rewarded at European level with some level of participation.
The Dons have finished second in the Premiership for four years in a row but have yet to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League under manager Derek McInnes.
Cormack believes success at national level is deserving of international reward.
In an interview with the BBC Cormack said: “Teams like Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs should have exposure to European football, and not just a qualifying round here or there.
“Why can’t we be ‘guaranteed’ some kind of group-stage football if we finish second, third or fourth in the league? What is wrong with trying to promote a Europa League or Champions League for teams that have turnover of £20m or less, with clubs from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Greece, Turkey and Scotland?
“Let Barcelona, let Real Madrid knock themselves out on their own. I just think we need to be pushing that agenda. Nobody else is going to fight our corner like we will.”
Europe is only one continent on Cormack’s radar, however.
The Dons will return to Dubai in January for their annual winter training camp while the Aberdonian, who made his fortune in the United States, is keen to extend his club’s profile across the Atlantic.
Former Dons chief executive Cormack arranged for Richie Graham, one of the owners of Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union, to give a presentation to the Pittodrie board and he is pushing to take the Aberdeen FC brand global.
He said: “Why can’t Aberdeen, and I’m thinking out loud here, be America’s Scottish football team?
“We’ve been approached by some teams and we’re going to explore affiliating with some of these youth soccer associations, one in California where there is an Aberdeen connection, and what they’d like to do is tap into Aberdeen’s online curriculum for professional youth development. Maybe have someone go out once a year and back.
“They would then buy all of their kit for the 2,000 kids who play in that association and we can generate £1-2 million a year just from working with 20 to 30 clubs there.
“We’re going to explore, the commercial team with Rob Wickes and others, how we can tap into the American fan to make Aberdeen their Scottish team.
“Not everything is going to work but I learned a long time ago if you are going to fail, fail fast and learn quickly and if you don’t try you never succeed.”