"We underestimate the threat posed by the new ways in which young people consume football" (L. Colette)

"The new ways in which the younger generation consume football are likely to shake up the landscape of professional football, and I think this threat is underestimated. It's especially true for young people who don't go to the stadium (often because there's nothing on offer nearby) and who certainly won't be glued to their TV sets to watch a 0-0 draw," said Laurent Colette (FRA), former executive at FC Barcelona (LALIGA EA Sports), AS Roma (Serie A Enilive) and Olympique de Marseille (Ligue 1 McDonald's), to News Tank Football on 16/08/2025.

"Mobile phones and instant messaging, competition from Netflix and online games offer a wide range of temptations that are driving young people away from football. Gerard Piqué (a former Spanish international with Barça) spoke to me about this back in 2015, saying that the current rules of football were no longer in tune with the expectations of the younger generation. Since then, he has created and developed the Kings League (a 7-a-side football competition set up by Kosmos, his investment fund), which is making headway," added Colette.

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