The Changing Face Of Pro Sport – Will National Pride Be Relegated To The Trash?
Football was the first sporting code to make rapid changes in the professional era, with Premier League clubs scouring not only the hallowed turf of England for prospective giants of the football pitch, but effectively the entire world.
The clubs with the most amount of money in their oversized piggy banks will be able to poach any player from any continent, as is already the case, notwithstanding their national affiliation.....and win.
Flintoff fancies IPL action
Star English all rounder, Andrew Flintoff, has been in the news recently with his appeal to the ECB to allow English pros to take part in the IPL. He claims England is being left in the proverbial dust by the other international players allowed by their governing bodies to take part in the League.
With the recent pasting by India, any practice the hapless English can get under their belts could be a good thing, but is that the real motivation behind Flintoff’s plea, or is it simply the lure of a whole fistful of dollars?
If the ECB does not allow its players to take part in the IPL, or simply makes it too difficult for them to take part, how long will it be before they opt for the treasure trove of international cricket over the pride of a nation?
SA cricketers move to English County Clubs in their droves
South African cricketers are moving, in their droves, to the English County Club scene primarily because of the remarkable strength of the pound against the rand. Surely it won’t be much longer before each cricketing country forms its own premier league similar to the Spanish La Liga or Italy’s Serie A?
Rugby Union has also started to read the tea leaves. With the potent southern hemisphere teams making a bit of mockery of the international flavour of the sport, changes will have to be implemented to spread the game far and wide.
Bledisloe Cup in Hong Kong – Denver, Tokyo next?
This year, for instance, the much vaunted Bledisloe Cup clash between the giants of antipodean rugby, New Zealand and Australia, was held in Hong Kong of all places.
The honchos of New Zealand rugby claim it is an effort to spread the popularity of the game, but perhaps the lucrative TV deals are the real motivator. Both Denver in the US and Tokyo in Japan have been suggested as the venues for next year’s Bledisloe Cup clash – interesting!
Barbarians could be the future look of rugby
Odds are we will see more teams like the Barbarians, who will take on Australia at Wembley soon and more and more individual sportsmen following the proverbial dollar and moving around to various international league clubs.
