The ‘vision’ Of The Proposed European Super League
Club after club, league after league, have been falling over themselves to distance themselves from the Super League… it seems to be dead-in-the-water before it can get started. But is that truly the case?
UEFA and FIFA are “abusing a dominant position” by applying arbitrary rules on approval, control and sanctions, the E.U.’s Court of Justice said in a binding ruling on Thursday.
The news was greeted with annoyance across football. In theory the court ruling means that a Super League could happen, they can’t stop it from happening – but it really isn’t that simple.
The proposed Super League (which could potentially replace the current Champions League) was the brainchild of Sports Management company A22 who had an agreement with 12 founder members to breakaway from the current status quo back in 2021.
The Dirty Dozen
But of the initial 12 (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid – only three remain in favour after a huge backlash from fans across the world.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus welcomed the ruling and they are adamant they are still backing the proposals, but publicly other high-profile clubs have been against such plans. Without such European giants as Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, who refused to be part of the initial plans, the idea may struggle to attract widespread support.
UEFA insists that they are not worried, indeed they and many would argue that the new Champions League format, which will come in being next season and is a new big league set-up, already makes the Super League formation pointless in my opinion.
“We will not try to stop them. They can create whatever they want. I hope they start their fantastic competition as soon as possible, with two clubs. I hope they know what they are doing but I am not so sure about that. Football is not for sale,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
‘Football is free’ – For Those Who Can Afford It
So with only Real, Barca and Juventus on-board – what is the problem? They can’t do anything with three clubs…but that is the issue, are there only three? Super League and A22 CEO Bernd Reichart confirmed the suspicion of some, that some of those openly voicing their opposition publicly may not be telling the complete whole truth.
“One of the clubs that just made a statement against the Super League, called me and said ‘we’re saying no in public, but we’re with you’,” said Reichart.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, arguably the driving force behind the deal according to some, said: “The UEFA monopoly is over. Football is free.” Does that sound like someone who has given up? You wouldn’t bet on it!
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By Graeme Bailey
