6 janv. 2001 - The first Atlantic League proposal was made by Peter Fossen and Harry van Raaij, chief executive officer and club president respectively at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. Fearing that their club would be left behind in terms of financial revenue and ability to attract star players relative to those that play in the largest European national leagues, they proposed that they secede from their existing league competitions and form an international competition with one another

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A plan was drawn up for a league featuring clubs from the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Scotland, plus a contingent from Scandinavian countries. Talks were held with Ajax, Feyenoord, Porto, Rangers and Celtic; Celtic were particularly receptive of the idea. The league was planned to begin in 2002 at the earliest, following the conclusion of television rights contracts in the affected countries.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/600748.stm