The Otten Innovation Cup has begun. Secretary General of the KNVB Gijs de Jong and General Director of PSV Marcel Brands opened the tournament through a press conference. Here they explained the innovative game rules that will be tested during the tournament.
De Jong begins by complimenting Marcel Brands: "It is good that club directors not only care about their club, but also think about football in general. I think everyone can agree that Marcel is actively doing that. The world is changing and so is football. We are seeing some patterns that we would rather not see. It is good to emphasize that we are not advocating a revolution, but an evolution. It is not about changing, but about making the game more attractive, more sporty and more fair. Abroad, they sometimes say, "If it ain't broken, why fix it? We don't say it's broken, but there are cracks we can close."
The football of the future
By tears, De Jong is referring to trends such as time-wasting, mass protests, highly unsportsmanlike fouls and lack of clarity around VAR decisions. "We are super happy with the Otten Innovation Cup, because here we can lay the foundation for the football of the future. I am very curious about the rules that will be tested this weekend."
Marcel Brands concurs with De Jong, but also strikes a critical note. "The innovative values suit our club and we had secretly wanted to go further than the KNVB. This is the perfect opportunity to test new rules of play. I think everyone saw last year how interesting that is, and we will see that again next weekend. Going forward, it should lead to a number of adjustments that improve football in different facets. We tried to implement VAR announcements and bodycams. In other sports this is a given, but in football it is not yet possible. The KNVB may go a little further in that as far as I'm concerned."
Stadion De Herdgang
Brands, meanwhile, is hugely looking forward to the 74th edition of the Otten Innovation Cup. "It is a nice field of participants, with old acquaintances and new candidates such as Paris Saint-Germain FC and Atletico Madrid. I want to thank in advance all the volunteers and staff and I am also already looking forward to the 75th edition, which we will play next year at the Herdgang Stadium."