Chinese OSCs inc. Shenzhen Blues + Sun Jihai + China tours

That's a very negative light on your torch. I think by setting an example, leading the field and wanting to win, would encourage other clubs to seek new methods of player development, stadium support capture and the seeking of financial support.

I know I have a talent for negativity, but this is one area where I feel it's particularly justified. We're not talking tactics or diving here - when people move to match fixing it's because they've consciously taken the decision that winning is more important than keeping the law or playing fair. Corrupt people almost always stsy corrupt. People who rig games don't care about whether it can be done fairly anymore, they care about buying their way to the top. Sure, you can provide a shining example of how to build a winning team without breaking the law but the point is that there can only ever be one winner and so long as teams are not that winner, if they have a history of cheating, they will consider cheating again to restore their former fortunes.

Corruption is very, very hard to root out. I just don't think it can be trusted to go away just by setting a good example. It will always come back so long as those who previously did it are allowed to remain in the game. The only way to beat corruption is to use harsh applications of the law - and even that's not perfect. We'd be better off avoiding all leagues with a history of corruption.
 
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We'd be better off avoiding all leagues with a history of corruption.

Christ, that means we can forget about Africa, South and central America, 90% of Asia and two thirds of Europe given the regular scandals in places like Italy, Greece, Turkey etc etc.
 
Christ, that means we can forget about Africa, South and central America, 90% of Asia and two thirds of Europe given the regular scandals in places like Italy, Greece, Turkey etc etc.

How many CFG teams do you want? There's more than enough growth potential in the leagues that aren't bent. I'm pretty sure I've seen CFG say words to the effect of that they don't want to commit to corrupt leagues in the past, regardless.

Seriously though, it's not just that we might fail to "civilise" a corrupt league if we enter it. People who try to take on corruption on their own by playing fair tend to get dragged down by the system, in one of two ways - either by being buried by their opponents or by becoming corrupt themselves. Even those who are squeaky clean end up getting tarnished by the history of those around them. Look at Team Sky, who went into cycling with a very public "we will not dope" campaign. They got laughed at by their opponents right up until they started winning things. Did their opponents then apologise and consider ending their own drugs programmes? No, they started accusing Sky of being just as corrupt as the rest, and of being hypocritical to boot, and now Sky have had to go through years of character assassinations and mud-slinging, and many now believe all the accusations against them. There's a very real possibility that Sky, or members of it, have indeed broken their anti-doping promise.

I don't want CFG's to get dragged into corruption rumours in China, because you better believe that if rumours start mounting that our Chinese team is rigging games it won't be long before the other CFG teams start being hit with the same accusations.
 
How many CFG teams do you want? There's more than enough growth potential in the leagues that aren't bent. I'm pretty sure I've seen CFG say words to the effect of that they don't want to commit to corrupt leagues in the past, regardless.

Seriously though, it's not just that we might fail to "civilise" a corrupt league if we enter it. People who try to take on corruption on their own by playing fair tend to get dragged down by the system, in one of two ways - either by being buried by their opponents or by becoming corrupt themselves. Even those who are squeaky clean end up getting tarnished by the history of those around them. Look at Team Sky, who went into cycling with a very public "we will not dope" campaign. They got laughed at by their opponents right up until they started winning things. Did their opponents then apologise and consider ending their own drugs programmes? No, they started accusing Sky of being just as corrupt as the rest, and of being hypocritical to boot, and now Sky have had to go through years of character assassinations and mud-slinging, and many now believe all the accusations against them. There's a very real possibility that Sky, or members of it, have indeed broken their anti-doping promise.

I don't want CFG's to get dragged into corruption rumours in China, because you better believe that if rumours start mounting that our Chinese team is rigging games it won't be long before the other CFG teams start being hit with the same accusations.

Can you tell us what leagues are available given that you can hardly own more than one team per confederation?.. Of course you can have minority stakes in lots of clubs though.
As for Khaldoon he stated that CFG will pick up more teams when they find a good opportunity to do so expansion is on the agenda it seems.
 
Can you tell us what leagues are available given that you can hardly own more than one team per confederation?.. Of course you can have minority stakes in lots of clubs though.
As for Khaldoon he stated that CFG will pick up more teams when they find a good opportunity to do so expansion is on the agenda it seems.

I'm not aware that FIFA allows for minority stakes under its "conflict of interest" rules. Any ownership of two clubs competing in the same competition is breaking the rules, IIRC. Since we already own two AFC teams, therefore, there seems little reason not to go for more. That said, I'm no expert on which leagues are and aren't corrupt - I just don't want us to get involved in the ones that are. It's someone else that said China has a rigging problem. Maybe K-League? I know that they had a betting scandal a few years back, but they came down hard on it, which is exactly the response I would expect from a league which is actively tackling its problems. Maybe a development team in Spain or Portugal?
 
Surely we'll have a Middle Eastern team before long? I'm surprised it hasn't happened already, if only for personal reasons.
 
I'm not aware that FIFA allows for minority stakes under its "conflict of interest" rules. Any ownership of two clubs competing in the same competition is breaking the rules, IIRC. Since we already own two AFC teams, therefore, there seems little reason not to go for more. That said, I'm no expert on which leagues are and aren't corrupt - I just don't want us to get involved in the ones that are. It's someone else that said China has a rigging problem. Maybe K-League? I know that they had a betting scandal a few years back, but they came down hard on it, which is exactly the response I would expect from a league which is actively tackling its problems. Maybe a development team in Spain or Portugal?

So we have 20% of Yokohama F Marinos and thus own it?... What do we call the 80% owned by NISSAN?

K-League is a possibility but as CFG got a daughter company (CFG Japan) now it seems unlikely, But South-Africa is my bet to be honest, with a secondary minor stake somewhere else that ties in with South-America somehow
 
So we have 20% of Yokohama F Marinos and thus own it?... What do we call the 80% owned by NISSAN?

No, my point was I'm pretty sure FIFA's interpretation of the rules are that you don't need a controlling share in a club to have a conflict of interests if you get drawn against another team you own, you only need to own part of both to be going against the rules. It doesn't matter if you own 5% or 100%, you still have a vested interest in both clubs and that means that you have to voluntarily expel one of your teams from the competition it's in (or surrender your stake in the club) if they are both in the same competition.

Now of course I recognise that some people have about a dozen shares in a hundred different clubs and that owning a dozen shares gives you no control whatsoever. I presume the rules say if you own enough shares to have a board representative or something, but either way we will easily satisfy that condition with both the Marinos as well as Melbourne City. Point is, if we're already committed to owning a large percentage of a second AFC team why bother concerning yourself with the potential issues of having a third - might as well just go all in since you've already created the problem for yourself. Besides, CFG may well be counting on buttering up the AFC into getting a special exemption.
 
We're developing a global presence and the best way to do so, is rescue or renovate - or in the case of NYCFC, invent a club. Find the demand, develop the CFG mentality and create a global academy opportunity. Be it one, that may not give off fruit, or one for commercial operating reasons. In a country plagued with corruption, someone has to fill in the void and take the bull by the horns, if everyone or organisation backs away, nothing will ever happen and a major presence or cash card will have been missed.
I'm unsure DJI holdings have enough weight in China. Unless the brand under many deeply hidden names... and don't use the image rights etc they would have secured with City.

If it inspires kids out here to wear City colours and watch our games in their shirts, fair enough, but in reality they'll unlikely see City live. CFG and the new clubs within it give chances to others to replicate and push forward our club experiences in ways others may have never seen.
 

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