The European Super League has relaunched as ‘The Unify League’ and it sounds like they are ready to challenge UEFA with a ‘free to watch’ model.
Back in April 2021, a number of Europe’s top clubs formally announced that they would be forming the European Super League to start in August of the same year and well, it didn’t exactly go to plan.
After massive backlash and protests, plenty pulled out following criticism for its ‘closed’ format, with 15 founder clubs set to have been immune from relegation.
But now, a new version of the breakaway Super League has been launched under the name ‘The Unify League’. So what does this proposal look like?
Under the new model, 96 clubs would feature across four tiers, with 14 guaranteed league-stage games, followed by knockout rounds.
Unlike the previous Super League concept, all positions would be earned by domestic performances in the previous campaign.
There would be top two tiers, the Star League and Gold League. Both would feature 16 teams divided into two groups of eight. Those eight would play each home and away. Then, the top two clubs from each of the four groups would go through to a final eight.
A22 have then proposed a two-legged quarter-final followed by single game semi-finals in the same week as the eventual final. The winner of the competition would play 18 games in total.
In addition, there would be two more competitions called Blue and Union, and they would each have four leagues of eight clubs.
According to The Sun, who suggest the competition will try and launch in September 2026, the Premier League would have three guaranteed entrants in the elite competition; not to mention two places in the second and up to five further slots across the remaining pair.
Unify is the proposal for a state-of-the-art digital streaming platform, and according to A22 Sports’ official website, they will “democratise football by allowing fans everywhere to watch new European Super League games for free.”
Here is what they are claiming:
“Unify has the potential to be the leading direct-to-fan sports streaming platform in the world, bringing billions of fans closer to the game than ever before.
“In addition to live matches, the platform will offer highlights, match insights and analysis, club-specific content, and many other interactive options. It will allow fans to connect as never before with their favourite clubs and players as well as with friends and fan communities.
“All men’s and women’s league matches would be distributed side by side, taking ‘centre stage’ on the platform. With Unify, the women’s game would finally have the global platform it deserves.”
It appears the Unify Platform will offer a so-called tiered model, which will “allow fans to watch live new European Super League matches for free.”
A22 Sports also suggest subscription tiers would also be offered for those who prefer to view matches with minimal advertising while enjoying advanced features such as favourite camera angles, live match data and other interactive options.
Image credit: A22 Sports
They add: “Distribution partnerships with broadcasters, streaming services, clubs and content providers will also be an important component of the Unify experience to ensure ease of access for fans.”
As detailed in their press release on Tuesday, A22 have submitted their proposal for official recognition of a new European competition to UEFA and FIFA. Will it work? Let us know in the comments.
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Publish date : 2024-12-17 05:00:00
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