What is the European Super League?

What is the European Super League:

Unless you have been living under a rock you would have heard about the Idea for a European Super League bobbing about in the waters. The idea was that a select number of Europe's most elite clubs would form an exclusive league to create the true pinnacle of football competition. This idea, as expected, was quite controversial. On one hand, you had prominent figures like Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez suggest that it was a method to move world football forward and on the other, you had football’s governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA vehemently opposed to the idea.

However, for once, it looks like Twitter’s football hipsters might be right. On Sunday, the 18th of April, 12 of Europe’s most elite teams confirmed that they had agreed to form a breakaway, non-UEFA governed, competition that would replace traditional European competitions like the Champions League. These 12 founding member clubs include all of England’s traditional big six, (Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool) Spain’s big three (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid) and Italian giants Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. However, these 12 clubs are looking to add 3 more founding members, making 15 teams immune to expulsion. Another 5 teams would round the number out to 20, they would be decided through a “qualifying mechanism” based on achievements in the prior season. In terms of who will fill the remaining 3 members, obvious candidates like Bayern Munchen, Porto and Borussia Dortmund seemed to have turned down the idea.

The new Super League already has a well-defined leadership with Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez serving as the Chairman. The league will also have four Vice-chairmen in Manchester United’s Joel Glazer, Liverpool’s John Henry, Arsenals Stan Kroenke and Juventus’ Andrea Agnelli

What is the format:

The 20 would be split into two groups of 10, with each team, in the respective groups, playing each other during a home and away fixture. At the end of that group phase, the top three from each would qualify into the quarter-finals, with the final two spots earned through play-off between the sides finishing fourth and fifth in the groups. After the Quarter-finals the competition would mirror the current Champions League format, there would be two-legged knock-out ties, home and away.l. Lastly, a single-fixture final would, in theory, determine the best team in the world. It is also important to note that this competition will not override domestic leagues and other domestic competitions e.g. the FA Cup. However, it would be a substitute to the Champions League.The tournament is intended to run from August up until May, much like the usual Premier League calendar. Although there has been no scheduled start date for the inaugural edition, a statement said that it would begin “as soon as practical.”

What are the benefits:

The current payout format European competition takes a large percentage of potential revenue away from the world’s most elite clubs. When minos play the elite teams they split the broadcast revenue evenly, meaning that bigger teams feel as though they don’t get their rightful share. The Super League essentially flips that on its head by walling off the richest clubs into their own exclusive competition, allowing them to divide the billions of dollars in projected annual revenue amongst themselves. According to a statement by the Super League, the founding clubs will divide €3.5 billion (about $4.2 billion) to create “a sustainable financial foundation.”As said by The New York Times, T”he per-team figure means each founding club will receive about $400 million” that is “more than four times what the Champions League winner took home in 2020.” It was revealed by Reuters that J.P. Morgan would be providing the initial investment referenced above.

What is the response like:

However, with possibly the most radical change to the core structure of the football world ever introduced, there was major pushback from a wide array of people. Some of the biggest organizations like the Premier League and even UEFA and FIFA themselves joined in to condemn the idea. In fact, the Premier League even sent a letter out to each club, warning them not to join the Super League. Hashtags like #Boycottsuperleague, #SayNoToSuperLeague and #NoToEuropeanSuperLeague all hit Twitter’s trending page as everyday fans denounced their support. Footballers like Ian Wright, Ander Herrera and Mesut Ozil all made statements via social media, venting their frustrations. Even Gary Neville has said that he is “absolutely disgusted” by Manchester United’s behavior.

UEFA president Alexander Ceferin has confirmed that “The players that will play in the Super League will be banned from playing in the World Cup and Euros.” “They will not be allowed to play for their national teams” Ceferin also confirmed that his legal team will meet over the coming days to decide whether to disqualify Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Man United and Arsenal from the remaining UCL and UEL games. He has said that he wants to “ban them as soon as possible.” Ceferin also seems to imply that the prospect of the Super League is heavily financially driven: “These are so-called big clubs, it is clear that the big clubs of today were not always big clubs.” It is also rumoured that participating clubs may even be subject to a ban from their respective domestic competitions.

Additionally, high-profile managers like Jurgen Klopp and Hansi Flick have joined the general public sentiment. Klopp said: "I like the competitive aspect of football. I like that West Ham might play in the Champions League. I don't want them to, because we want to, but I like they have the chance." He continues to insist that he had no influence in Liverpool’s decision to take part in the Super League. Hansi Flick has said ”the Super League wouldn't be good for European football.”

Truly, the idea of a Super League would take away some of the magic in football. Big teams should play each other once or twice a year, not week-in, week-out. The Super League would eliminate the chance for smaller clubs to mount a Cinderella story campaign. The beauty of continental competition is that Liverpool play AC Milan once, that’s the magic of the Champions League Final. Maybe, with enough UEFA driven sanctions and complaints from the fans the Super league can be reverted.

My opinion:

This is genuinely one of the biggest money-grabbing schemes in sports history. How can the biggest club in the world break into a league that they cannot even be relegated from? You will have an even bigger monopoly for the clubs at the top, it causes a system that has no real reward for how teams do in a domestic campaign. The teams that take part in the European Super League will earn exponentially more than other teams. We need to make the clubs care about the fans not the money. It might just be true that football fosters unity among people.

As I am writing this article, new information is continually being churned out. If you want further updates Fabrizio Romano is regularly updating followers with new information on Twitter. Keep your eyes peeled as this story continues to heat up.

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