‘Future European Super League could have 80 clubs’ – Sport
BERLIN: A future European Super League could feature up to 80 teams, said Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of A22 Sports Management, a company set up to sponsor and assist the creation of a breakaway football league, on Thursday.
In a statement outlining the preliminary results of talks A22 had held with allegedly 50 European clubs and football stakeholders, the company said changes were needed.
“The vast majority of them agree that the very foundations of European football are under threat and it’s time for change,” said A22.
“Feedback points to an open European football league based solely on sporting achievements, multidivisional with 60 to 80 clubs and at least 14 guaranteed European games per club.” Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus were among the 12 clubs expected in April 2021 announced a breakaway Super League.
But the move collapsed within 48 hours after an outcry from fans, governments and players forced Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid to withdraw.
That left only Real, Barcelona and Juventus as losers. ESL took their case to a Spanish court, which then asked the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for advice.
“Our goal is to present a sustainable sport project for European club competitions, available at least to all 27 EU member states, as soon as possible after receiving the verdict,” said Reichart.
“The issues are clear and action needs to be taken for the benefit of fans, players and clubs.”
STRONG HEADWIND
Spain’s La Liga president Javier Tebas, a staunch opponent of the ESL, said the plan would only favor big clubs.
“The Super League is the wolf who dresses up as granny today to fool European football but his nose and his teeth are very big,” Tebas wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
“Four divisions in Europe? Of course, the first for them, as in the 2019 reform. Government of the clubs? Only the big ones, of course.”
European football’s governing body UEFA, the main opponent of the ESL plan, which it sees as a threat to its own Champions League club competition, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The European Club Association (ECA) said the “warmed up idea” of A22 was “proposed, discussed and broadly rejected by all stakeholders as early as 2019.
“As the only organization recognized by FIFA and UEFA to represent clubs at European and international level, and as the only body through which clubs have real representation in their decision-making, the ECA reiterates its long-standing opposition to the European Superliga and any breakaway project,” added the ECA.
“From 2024 onwards, more clubs from more countries will take part in European men’s club competitions each season.”
The Champions League is set to expand from 32 to 36 teams from the 2024/25 season after UEFA approved the new format last year.
The Football Supporters’ Association, which represents fans in England and Wales and is a co-founder of the European fan base, said the ESL plan had no support from the continent’s supporters.
“The walking corpse that is the European Super League is flinching again with all that zombie confidence,” FSA chief Kevin Miles said in a statement.
“Their latest idea is to have an ‘open competition’ instead of the closed store they initially suggested, which led to huge fan protests. Of course, there is already an open competition for Europe’s top clubs – it’s called the Champions League.”
A22 said 10 principles emerged from the discussions, including improving competitiveness, financial sustainability and fan experience.
The ongoing court case is over whether the statutes of European governing body UEFA and global governing body FIFA, which allow them to block competing events and ban clubs and players from participating, comply with EU competition rules.
Published in Dawn, February 10, 2023