Leading Ecuadorian football clubs vowed to fight “until the end” to prevent the Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol, the country’s football federation, from centralising the sale of league rights from 2013.
The federation said it would sell the rights for the top two divisions in a single package in order to “bridge the gap between Series A and B.” The federation said top-flight teams in Serie A would receive 70 per cent of the rights fees, Serie B would receive 20 per cent and provincial associations would be given 10 per cent.
Barcelona, Liga de Quito, Emelec, Quito, Espoli, El Nacional, Olmedo, Católica, Cuenca, AFG and AFNA are among the clubs to have spoken out against the plan.
Barcelona vice-president David Rodriguez called the proposal, which was backed by a federation committee vote on January 6, “illegal and unconstitutional.” Emelec spokesman Jose Amador said the clubs were considering legal action to prevent the introduction of the new rights model.