Will the Super League project finally see the light of day? Estimating, Thursday December 21, that UEFA and FIFA rules on authorizing competitions, such as the Super League, violated Union law, the Court of Justice of the European Union has relaunched the Super League project. What does it consist on ? Why does it pose a problem for certain actors? Franceinfo: sport summarizes this criticized project which could finally be implemented.
How was the project born ?
If it resurfaces in 2023, the project of a European Super League, supported by the company A22 Sports management, is not new. It is on April 18, 2021 that 12 European clubs (Real Madrid, FC BarcelonaAtlético de Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, Inter and AC Milan) had given their agreement to launch, at the time, “as soon as possible” this new competition, consisting of a closed league between the best clubs in Europe. The date was carefully chosen because on April 19, 2021, UEFA announced the reform of the Champions League with an increase from 32 to 36 clubs in 2024.
At the time, this project of a closed league had raised eyebrows due to the considerable income allocated to the participants. In 2021, the organizers announced that in return for their commitment, the founding clubs would receive 3.5 billion euros. For comparison, in 2019, UEFA confirmed paying 2.04 billion euros to clubs participating in the Champions League and the 2019-2020 UEFA Super Cup. The twelve founding clubs were also guaranteed to participate in the competition from one year to the next, which represented an advantage compared to the Champions League, where clubs are qualified according to their performance in their national championship. Advantages which no longer appear in the latest announcements of the A22.
Why is the Super League so much discussed?
As soon as it was announced, the Super League project caused controversy with UEFA since it directly competes with some of its competitions such as the Champions League or the Europa League. For these reasons, the boss of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, had promised sanctions to players playing in the founding clubs, announcing that they “will no longer be able to represent their national teams“.
Faced with these threats and strong opposition from supporters, particularly English ones, the project quickly collapsed, seen as a takeover of power by the biggest clubs. But the A22 marketing agency brought the case before the Madrid commercial court, which referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union. On December 15, 2022, the general advocate of this jurisdiction, Athanasios Rantos, formulated an opinion in favor of UEFA, considering that “the rules of Fifa and UEFA subjecting any new competition to prior authorization are compatible with Union competition law”.
But on Wednesday, the European Court of Justice finally ruled thatEU rules relating to the authorization of football competitions, such as Super League, dissident of the Champions League, were contrary to competition law. And therefore opens the possibility of its creation in the near future.
What would be the format of the new competition?
In its latest press release published this Thursday, A22 announced that the men’s competition would bring together 64 teams for men and 32 for women. Figures much higher than those planned for 2021, since at the time the Super League was to bring together 20 teams.
The 64 Clubs will be divided into three leagues: Star, Gold and Blue with a system of ups and downs. The Star and Gold leagues will include 16 clubs each, divided into two groups of eight teams. The Blue, the lowest level, will have 32, divided into four groups of eight. This will guarantee a minimum of 14 matches per club and per season (seven home matches and seven away).
The competition will be separated into two parts: a group stage and an elimination phase, where the best from each group will compete for promotions and relegations, as well as for the title in the highest division, the Star League. There will be two relegations per season for the Star and Gold divisions, and a rotation of 20 clubs out of the 32 in the Blue League directly with the national championships.
If the participating clubs are not yet known, the competition aims to bring together the best European clubs in matches which would be played “mid-week and will have no impact on the national championship schedule”, specifies the press release. Among the latter, in 2021, only Bayern Munich had openly withdrawn from the project, while PSG had criticized the project. “For the first year of the competition, clubs will be selected based on a set of transparent and performance-based criteria”completes the press release.
How will the Super League be financed?
If the contours of the financing still remain unclear, A22 indicates that “Solidarity payments will amount to 8% of the total, with a minimum of 400 million euros, more than double the amount distributed by the current European competition”or the Champions League.
Furthermore, the organization indicates that a streaming platform, called Unify, will make it possible to watch the Super League for free for both men and women. “The streaming platform will generate revenue through advertising, premium subscriptions, distribution partnerships, interactive services and sponsorships. Distribution partnerships will be an important component of the Unify experience to ensure ease of access for the fans”develops the press release.
How did the clubs react?
Since the last announcements from the A22, many clubs have spoken out. Unsurprisingly, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have reaffirmed their support for the Super League. “We will continue to defend a modern project, fully compatible with national competitions”, declared the president of the Madrid club, Florentino Pérez, in a speech. But the project is not unanimous. In a statement, Bayern Munich maintained its initial position by announcing that it would not participate in the competition. The Bavarian club believes that it “would constitute an attack on the importance of national championships and the structure of European football.” Manchester United and Atlético de Madrid, founding members of the initial project, have also affirmed their support for the current version of European competitions.
On the French side, Olympique de Marseille was the first club to react. At a press conference, the club’s president, Pablo Longoria, criticized this decision, explaining that a “closed league, it’s not football” and called “to unity and dialogue”. The Professional Football League (LFP) has provided its support to UEFA. In a press release, Vincent Labrune, its president, believes that “nothing can replace the legitimacy, credibility and prestige of European competitions as they have been organized for more than 60 years now.”
Press release from the LFP:
Following the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Professional Football League reaffirms its strong attachment to UEFA competitions. The principles of meritocracy which govern European football constitute…
— Professional Football League (@LFPfr) December 21, 2023
Withdrawing from the project from 2021, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of PSG confirmed their position in a press release : “Paris Saint-Germain totally and completely rejects any plans for a so-called Super League, which has been the case since day one and will always remain so. As a proud European institution, PSG supports the principles of the European sporting model , the values of open competition and inclusion, and works with all recognized stakeholders of European football – especially with supporters and players, who are at the heart of football.”explained the leader of the Ile-de-France club and the European Club Association (ECA).