Football’s hidden crisis

YOU won’t see it on TV, it’s something the football commentators would rather not mention, but behind the glitz and glamour of the Champions League matches is a hidden crisis.

This is an insidious one, hardly noticeable in England or in Germany, where games are continuing to attract record numbers.

Bundesliga crowds have been averaging over 45,000. Even lowly Augsburg, in the top-flight for the first time, have been pulling in almost 30,000 fans.