Francisco Egas, the president of Ecuadorian football club Universidad Católica, threatened to take legal action against the Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol, the Ecuadorian football federation, following the federation’s announcement of centralised domestic rights deals from 2013.
Earlier this month, the federation agreed to sell centralised rights to Ecuadorian state broadcaster TC Televisión, commercial broadcaster GamaTV and public-service broadcaster Ecuador TV for Serie A and Serie B, the country’s top two football divisions, in five-year deals, from 2013 to 2017.
However, several clubs have opposed the shift from club-by-club selling towards a centralised rights model from 2013. Universidad Católica, which will play in Serie A in 2013 following promotion from Serie B, has an existing rights deal with commercial broadcaster Teleamazonas until 2014.
“This is not the way to do it,” Egas told news website La Hora. “There are contracts that should be respected … The federation owes the country a much clearer, more transparent, more public process on how the rights are being allocated. Católica is completely against this process. Teleamazonas has Católica’s rights. It is a contract that should be respected and if it is ignored then legal remedies to enforce it will have to be considered.”
Egas added that federation president Luis Chiriboga, who brokered the deals, had failed to explain how the annual rights fees – starting at $16.6 million (€13.1 million) in 2013 and increasing annually by five per cent over the rate of inflation – would be divided amongst the clubs.
“It is a hidden mystery,” Egas said. “He has said the value of the contract publicly but has not said how much for each club… We cannot develop a budget [as a result].”
Egas said that he had held meetings with other dissenting clubs, including Serie A rival Liga de Quito, about challenging the centralised sales model.
Liga de Quito director Esteban Paz said that the federation had not been transparent in its dealings and had handled matters ‘under the table’. He told the Telegrafo website: “We are not opposed to ideas, especially if they generate more revenue for the teams, but they should always be handled in a clear way that does not overrun the clubs or dishonour existing contracts.”
Federation president Luis Chiriboga said that the federation’s disciplinary committee planned to sanction Paz for attacking the honour and dignity of the federation. A federation spokesman said that it could result in a ban from football activities in the country of up to five years.