Mark Ives Speaks To Price Of Football Podcast On Key Topics
National League CEO Mark Ives has spoken to the Price of Football podcast and discussed a number of key issues impacting the National League and wider football world.
Speaking to Kieran Maguire and Kevin Day, Mark Ives was asked about a number of topics including the Independent Regulator and FA Cup replays.
DAZN Broadcast Deal
I think it’s really important to record a thanks to our previous broadcast partners BT Sport/TNT Sports who we had a tremendous relationship with. We parted company on great terms. I want to recognise what the partnership did over the years for the Vanarama National League.
That said, we are extremely proud and delighted to have partnered with DAZN. We launched National League TV (NLTV) a couple of years ago and DAZN are taking over – as a joint venture – the streaming element as well as showing enhanced games on the DAZN platform.
NLTV will sit on DAZN’s platform but there will be no need for supporters to take out any additional subscriptions. DAZN and NLTV will be available through a number of access points. It has a global reach and is accessible virtually everywhere. Fans will see little difference in terms of accessibility – they will be able to buy passes in the same way they can already on NLTV – with no need to take out any additional subscriptions.
National League Cup
We tend to hear publicly when people are not enthused but what you don’t hear are the people who are enthused and supportive of the competition and can see the benefits – and there are a lot of those as well. There are some people who had concerns and that includes some of our clubs too. We went through constructive discussions with our clubs and some voiced concerns. Clubs had an option to enter or not, some didn’t.
From a footballing perspective it gives the opportunity for squad players to gain first-term experience. This is a fantastic opportunity for our clubs to play against the PL2 clubs but also, it’s a fantastic opportunity for the PL2 clubs to play against senior players from the National League.
I’m happy with how it’s going so far. The games have been competitive and haven’t been one-sided. It’s a really good start and the feedback we’ve had from clubs to date has been really positive.
Independent Regulator
The National League has never said it is against the Regulator. When we had our first meetings with Tracy Crouch on the Fan Led Review, we made it clear that we wanted to be a part of it. We’ve embraced the Regulator ever since but that doesn’t mean we have to embrace every part of it. How can you fight against a situation that is protecting the financial stability and heritage of clubs? We are totally in support of the Regulator.
I’d like to get it really clear that my concerns about the Regulator are around the cost of the Regulator being borne by the clubs. The very clubs they’re trying to protect financially are being asked to pay for the Regulator itself. I think it would be a dereliction of my duty if we did not protect that position and ensure that when the Football Governance Bill comes into play that it operates with proportionality.
We’re also concerned about duplication. We run a licensing piece for membership of our competition that is very successful. The Regulator will also run a licensing approach. Many of the points asked will be the same ones asked already by our licensing regulations. That adds more pressure and work onto the clubs.
It’s not the ‘what’ we are challenging, it’s how it’s implemented.
FA Cup Replays
We have at no stage voiced our support for the scrapping of FA Cup replays or otherwise. It was a decision made by the Professional Game Board (PGB) which is made up of the FA, Premier League and EFL.
The problem facing the PGB is the increased pressure on the fixture calendar at the higher echelons of the game, there is simply no opportunity for replays to be played in those latter rounds. That has been a genuine challenge that the PGB had to address.
The FA Cup is the crown jewel of the FA competitions – it’s the greatest competition in the world. It needs an objective look to the decision made. Over the last five years, the average number of National League System clubs to get a replay in the First Round is three. In the Second Round there’s one and in the Third Round it’s less than one. So the number of clubs financially benefitting from FA Cup replays is not that high. The prize pot for rounds one to three has been increased by 38% which will include a guaranteed 32 National League System clubs in the first round.
Personally, I would much rather benefit all clubs that reach the First Round Proper, rather than just a few who happen to get a replay. From a fan’s point of view, the romance of the FA Cup is not solely resting on replays – just ask Tamworth, Brackley Town, Wealdstone, Harborough Town and many others from last weekend.
The full interview is available from all podcast platforms.
Where next?
Match centre
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