The European Super League (ESL) is back. A22 Sports Management have unveiled proposals for a new 64-team competition in the instant aftermath of a decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that concluded UEFA and FIFA rules banning clubs from participating in breakaway tournaments were opposite to European law.
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Clubs from across Europe will be free to take part in the competition, which will include three tiers, promotion and relegation and will be broadcast to viewers all over the world. If any will in the long run sign up for this rival to the Champions League remains to be seen but they’re free to take action after Thursday’s decision.
The ESL and its backers claimed that UEFA and FIFA were breaking competition law by threatening them and players with sanctions. The ECJ concluded that this used to be indeed the case.
“The FIFA and UEFA rules making any new interclub football project subject to their prior approval, such as the Super League, and prohibiting clubs and players from playing in those competitions, are illegal,” said a remark from the court.
“There is not any framework for the FIFA and UEFA rules ensuring that they’re translucent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate. In a similar fashion, the rules giving FIFA and UEFA exclusive keep an eye on over the commercial exploitation of the rights related to those competitions are such as to confine competition, provided their importance for the media, consumers and television viewers in the European Union.”
Thursday’s decision will be referred back to the Madrid court where the ESL first of all opened its case against UEFA.
In the meanwhile, A22 have already unveiled plans for a 64-strong men’s ESL, split into three tiers: Star League, Gold League and Blue League. The latter will contain 32 teams, the rest split evenly over Star and Gold Leagues. Clubs will be guaranteed no less than 14 matches a year in the group stages, after which a knockout round will decide promotion and champions. A women’s competition of 32 teams will run along a similar format. The ECJ’s ruling would oblige the new ESL to have open qualification criteria and this proposed league does haven’t any permanent measures. A the most important appeal of the initial plans had been the chance to lock in broadcast revenue from consistent matches between big clubs.
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“We have won the correct to compete,” said Bernd Reichart, chief executive of A22. “The UEFA-monopoly is over. Football is free. Clubs are now free from the specter of sanctions and free to decide their own futures. For fans: We suggest free viewing of all Super League matches. For clubs: Revenues and solidarity spending will be guaranteed.”
To enact that ambitious plan, A22 suggest to launch the “leading direct-to-fan sports streaming platform on the earth.” Unify will allow supporters from across the planet to watch each and every game for free with revenue generated from “advertising, premium subscriptions, distribution partnerships, interactive services and products, and sponsors.”
Speaking after the ruling, Reichart said that beyond Real Madrid and Barcelona there are clubs “who are truly interested in our proposal.” Naming them, alternatively, would “divide football,” he said.
CBS Sports understands that A22 intend to launch their new competition rapidly. No particular timescale has been set but they intend to be playing mannered before 2030.
“We consider our proposal will create the most exciting football competition in Europe and at the same time create a better, more sustainable football ecosystem, for both the men’s and women’s game,” Reichart said. “It would make stronger clubs with storied histories who are struggling to compete internationally while taking a big step forward in reinforce of the football pyramid.
“Football is the people’s game. The current fan experience with more than one TV subscriptions is fitting prohibitively expensive and needs fresh thinking. Other entertainment options are ceaselessly bettering their satisfied offerings and football needs innovative ideas particularly to draw young fans. We need to take this powerful and amazing competition to fans all over the world in a way that provides easy access to the most efficient matches and an unrivaled, state-of-the-art fan experience. Putting fans first will accelerate football’s unique position as the only in point of fact global sport.”
Timeline of events
The ESL originally launched two years ago, but with Thursday’s ruling, the story shows no signs of ending quickly. Here is a quick glance at the major updates in the saga.
April 18, 2021: The ESL is officially announced with a remark from Liverpool, issued on social media with a simple sentence: “Leading European football clubs announce new Super League competition.” Most of Europe’s top clubs joined them in the coming hours, with one notable exception — Paris Saint-Germain.April 19, 2021: UEFA threatens to kick out all the ESL-bound clubs from current European competition as criticism from almost each and every corner of the soccer world pours in.April 20, 2021: The kickoff of a Premier League conflict between Chelsea and Brighton is delayed after fans of the London club stage a massive protest. Later that day, Manchester City change into the first team to pull out of the competition and a couple of hours later, the proposed ESL is officially suspended.Dec. 21, 2023: The European Court of Justice rules that FIFA and UEFA cannot currently block the ESL from forming, and so the ESL relaunches with a new format. Can the new ESL work?
There are, alternatively, remarkable hurdles still in place for any rival to the Champions League. The ECJ did not rule that UEFA or FIFA are forbidden from organizing their own competitions; the ESL should compete with the Champions League. In the end, the proposed ESL did not collapse because of the specter of sanctions from the governing body but because of the ferocious reaction of supporters, especially in England. Any competition would also be subject to licensing procedures too. The ECJ’s ruling used to be based on UEFA’s authorization rules at the time of the breakaway in 2021. European football’s governing body has since changed them, it famous in its response to the ECJ’s decision.
“This ruling does not signify an endorsement or validation of the so-called ‘super league’; it quite underscores a pre-existing shortfall inside UEFA’s pre-authorization framework, a technical aspect that has already been acknowledged and addressed in June 2022,” UEFA said in a remark. “UEFA is self-assured in the robustness of its new rules, and specifically that they agree to all applicable European laws and regulations.
“UEFA remains resolute in its commitment to uphold the European football pyramid, ensuring that it continues to serve the broader interests of society. We will be able to continue to shape the European sports mannequin collectively with national associations, leagues, clubs, fans, players, coaches, EU institutions, governments and partners alike.
“We agree with that the solidarity-based European football pyramid that the fans and all stakeholders have declared as their irreplaceable mannequin will be safeguarded against the specter of breakaways by European and national laws.”
World football’s governing body, FIFA, added, “FIFA will now analyse the decision in coordination with UEFA, the other confederations and the member associations before commenting further. In line with its Statutes, FIFA firmly believes in the particular nature of sport, including the pyramid constitution – which is underpinned by sporting merit – and the principles of competitive balance and financial solidarity. Football owes its long and successful history to the above-mentioned principles, which FIFA, the confederations and the member associations will continue to elevate one day, in the interest of all football fans worldwide.”
For any competition to be a success, A22 will wish to expand its public backers far beyond the current duo of Real Madrid and Barcelona, who have continued to pursue the Super League project. Sources near to A22 say they’ve received remarkable private backing from clubs across Europe. Alternatively, no club has publicly joined the Spanish duopoly. The British government’s imminent Football Governance Invoice would give an independent regulator the power to make a decision if clubs could compete in breakaway leagues such as the ESL.
The years since its collapse have brought concessions to the clubs who attempted to breakaway including more places in the Champions League, whose Swiss mannequin next season will warranty more games. Broadcasting revenue from the competition has also swelled to $3.9 billion per season with UEFA hopeful that number will reach $5.5 billion following a wave of new deals in countries including Britain, France and the US for the 2024-27 cycle (CBS and Paramount+ will broadcast the Champions League in the US until 2030).
What used to be the initial Super League and why did it collapse?
In April 2021, 12 clubs from England, Spain and Italy announced the formation of a new continental competition that would be worth in excess of $10 billion to its founder clubs. They, together with three others — spots that were reserved for Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund — would be afforded permanent status in the competition with five further spots to be provided out based on sporting merit.
Inside 48 hours of its announcement, alternatively, the Super League had collapsed in a hail of fan fury. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatened to drop a “legislative bomb” on the six Premier League representatives (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham), who rapidly withdrew amid widespread supporter protests. AC Milan, Inter and Atletico Madrid departed soon after and despite the fact that Juventus, whose then chief executive Andrea Agnelli had been one of the most competition’s leading proponents, clung on for a time they began to distance themselves from plans amid the plusvalenza scandal.