An ugly future may await the beautiful game

According to the latest Deloitte & Touche review of football finances, the game is becoming more polarised and the gap between football's élite and lower- league clubs has never been greater. This is hardly a surprise to anyone with the slightest knowledge of our national game. But the analysis and warnings deserve to be taken seriously.

According to the latest Deloitte & Touche review of football finances, the game is becoming more polarised and the gap between football's élite and lower- league clubs has never been greater. This is hardly a surprise to anyone with the slightest knowledge of our national game. But the analysis and warnings deserve to be taken seriously.

It is impossible to stop globalisation and the concentration of resources and talent in a handful of top teams; indeed, there is more chance that Kidderminster Harriers will win this season's FA Cup. The challenge for the football authorities is to ensure that the game itself is not totally destroyed in the process.

The report coincides with new evidence that the two top Scottish football clubs are seeking to break from their national leagues to join a new "Atlantic League" of leading clubs from other smaller nations such as Holland and the Nordic countries. (It would, of course, make more sense for them to join the English Premier League.)

Likewise, there are reports that élite clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool, are looking for changes to the European competitions to ensure that they are almost permanent fixtures in the European Champions' League. And as we have seen with Manchester United's participation in last season's World Club Championship, the tendency is to neglect the home game in order to further global interests.

They should pause for thought. Last season there was growing evidence that the public was more interested in domestic contests than the lesser European tussles, and Manchester United had cause to rue their South American adventures. Any diminution of the domestic game would hurt everyone, as interest in the game would decline, and revenue would dry up.

For the moment, however, the huge growth in revenue from TV rights and merchandising will continue to fuel the inflation in wages and transfer fees, with no end in sight. Yes, there is something obscene when a player at Bradford is paid more than twice the average annual wage each week. But these are the stars who the fans pay to see. The Bosman ruling, and the likely end of the transfer system, are merely long-overdue adjustments for footballers to be subject to normal employment practices.

The problem is how to ensure enough money is trickling down the divisions. Football is similar to other industries where a few firms - or clubs - use market power to distort competition. The case for intervening against restrictive practices is overwhelming. There should also be measures to redistribute the wealth of the top clubs. The football authorities have been too in thrall to their threats. It is time for them to ensure football does not score the ultimate own goal.