Economist: Spanish football dying

 Economist¹: Spanish football dying

MADRID, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The economist, Jose Maria Gay de Liebana has given a warning to Spanish football clubs that the sport is in danger of dying out in the country.

It seems hard to believe in a football mad country such as Spain, where the sport is still the major topic of conversation, ahead of the economic crisis. But Gay de Liebana warns that the economic crisis is causing major problems to the majority of Spain's clubs.

"The Spanish league is not growing, there are only two teams, which are growing: Barca and Real Madrid," he said in a conference held in Barcelona.

"The remaining clubs are in the same position they were in five years ago. Spanish football is dying and I think it has around five years left to live and the grounds are showing me to be correct, because it is no longer attractive," continued Gay de Liebana.

Attendances are further being hit in Spain this season by the decision to screen live football on pay channels in eight different time slots, making it more tempting² for fans to stay at home rather than go to matches.

Meanwhile the constant changing of kick off times is also confusing and frustrating³ for supporters.

The economist highlights the unfair distribution of TV rights money, which is negotiated on a club by club basis.

This allows that big two clubs in Spain to use their weight and means Real Madrid and Barca take almost 50 percent of the total for the entire Primera Liga, almost four times more than any other club in Spain.

This contrasts with other leagues, where the clubs negotiate a contract as a whole and the division of money is much fairer.

Gay de Liebana highlights that between 2010 and 2011 Barca and Madrid were the only two teams in Spain capable of generating huge earnings⁴, with Barca bringing in 450.7 million euros and Madrid, 479.3 million euros.

The next highest earner was Valencia, who finished third in the BBVA Primera Liga. Valencia earned 119.6 million euros, while Atletico Madrid earned 99.9 million and Sevilla 82.9 million.

Reigning⁵ Europa League champions, Atletico Madrid have just had an embargo⁶ placed in their by UEFA because of unpaid⁷ debts, the same as Malaga, who last season finished fourth in Spain behind, Real Madrid, Barca and Valencia.

The economist responded to recent trends in Catalonia for independence from Spain, he stressed that should that happen and Barca were forced to play in a purely⁸ Catalan league the economic effects would be disastrous⁹ for the club, but that such a move would have negative results for Spain as well, as it would deprive the Primera Liga of its most attractive duel¹⁰.

Gay de Liebana believes part of the solution to the problem could be to expand the Spanish league into an 'Iberian' League, in which way the main Portuguese¹¹ clubs: Sporting Club of Portugal, Benfica and Porto could be included.

He believes that would increase the fanbase, attendances and the competitiveness of football in the region.

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

3 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

5 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

6 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

7 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

8 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

9 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

10 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

11 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。