European football risks another identity crisis with roughly 60 clubs reportedly willing to take part in a renewed push to establish a Super League.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are the focal point behind the A22-led project and it is said to have won over several influential English clubs.
The proposal is for a three-tier competition to start in either September 2025 or 2026 and to run midweek alongside domestic divisions, which would surely signal the collapse of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
This new development is said to be more meritocratic than the idea that prompted such furore in 2021, with league champions in any given season potentially qualifying for the 16-club elite ‘Star League’.
Around 100 clubs have been consulted by ‘A22’ supremos with 60 saying they are keen to get involved, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.
Organisers received a boost last year when UEFA and FIFA were found to have acted against competition law in blocking the creation of the Super League in 2021 – by none other than the European Court of Justice.
Roughly 60 clubs are ready to sign up to a renewed European Super League plan, a report claims
Several top Premier League sides are said to be keen, though it is not revealed who
Fans reacted with rage when the project was initially proposed back in 2021, with most of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ backing out within 48 hours
A vehement backlash from fans meant that the £4.5billion project was effectively dead in the water within 48 hours of its announcement and the Premier League’s ‘big six’, along with as many European giants, were dubbed the ‘Dirty Dozen’.
Bernd Reichart, chief executive of A22, the company pushing the European Super League, believes that it can have lift-off it it can convince mainland continental clubs to join, leaving English sides with little choice but to follow.
However, PSG and Bayern Munich are reportedly opposed to the renewed project – though the latter could be persuaded by a meritocratic structure. In June, Juventus appeared to pull out of the prospect by requesting to re-join the European Club Association, a body run by PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi which opposes the Super League.
Mundo Deportivo also state that Manchester City are opposed to it due to pressure from Boris Johnson, who initially threatened legislation to block the competition. Given he is no longer even an MP, it would be a surprise if Johnson could wield much power over City’s money-guzzling Emirati owners.
Under A22’s proposal, the top division would be the ‘Star League’ and initially involve 16 heavyweights from England, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and other nations such as the Netherlands and Portugal.
That league would be divided into two groups of eight teams, who would all play each other twice, before two-legged quarter and semi-finals and a single-match final.
In this format, the ‘Star League’ would offer a maximum of 19 matches for finalists, as opposed to 17 in the Champions League.
Then there would be the ‘Gold League,’ another tier of 16 teams, and then a 32-club ‘Blue League’ which would see a whopping 20 sides relegated each season.
Bernd Reichart, chief of A22, the company pushing the project, believes that if they can get mainland European teams on board then any Premier League resisters will follow suit
The European Super League would run in midweek alongside weekend domestic games, ending the current continental competitions
The idea that the European Super League would be meritocratic is more palatable than the more fixed entity that was initially conceived.
However, if it is going to run alongside domestic fixtures rather than replace them, one must question why it is at all necessary to rip up the existing meritocratic European competitions.
The Super League’s organisers believe that all 11 of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ are till contractually bound to join, besides Inter Milan.
A22’s next step to is solidify how they could broadcast the competition.
Their vision is to do so through a free streaming platform called Unify, and they would make their money from advertising revenue.
Advertisers would be geolocate where they want to sponsor – for example, an advert might be shown to a Spain-based viewer but not an English one if the brand only wants to be involved in that market.
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Publish date : 2024-12-05 04:32:00
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