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Topline
A landmark ruling in the European Court of Justice on Thursday prompted renewed speculation of the formation of the European Super League, but a renewed effort to create a new league of Europe’s top teams swiftly ran into massive hurdles—with a majority of the teams originally set to join the controversial competition already rejecting the proposed league.
Seven of the original 12 soccer clubs participating in the European Super League have said they will … [+]
Key Facts
The European Court of Justice declared the European soccer’s governing body—the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)—held a monopoly on soccer and could not interfere with clubs’ plans to form a European Super League, after UEFA threatened to sanction the clubs when the league was originally proposed in 2021.
Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid and Barcelona praised the court decision, and recommitted their clubs to joining the new league—with Real Madrid Chairman Florentino Perez calling it “a fantastic opportunity to improve European club football” and the “dawn of a new era.”
However, the third Spanish team in the original Super League, Atletico Madrid, rejected the new proposal, stating “the European football community does not support the European Super League.”
The English Premier League, where five of the twelve originally proposed Super League clubs play, said it “continues to reject any such concept,” and five of the six clubs—Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool—have since confirmed they will not participate in a new league.
Arsenal is the only English club that has not released a statement about the proposed league, but previously wrote an open letter to fans apologizing for affiliating with the original league in 2021.
Inter Milan has also come out strongly against the new proposal, but the other original Italian clubs involved in the Super League effort—Juventus and A.C. Milan—have yet to release a statement.
Key Background
In April 2021, 12 clubs across England, Spain and Italy, attempted to form the “European Super League,” an international elite competition between some of the top teams in each country’s league. The Super League said it intended to improve “the quality and intensity of existing European competitions” by providing each country’s top clubs with a venue to compete weekly, instead of just at UEFA events like the Champions League. However, the idea was met with strong backlash from fans, other teams, and government leaders, including then-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Days later, UEFA announced it would ban clubs from participating in the Super League—the project swiftly fell apart afterward.
News Peg
A22 Sport, the management company behind the European Super League, issued a new proposal to revive the international league. The new league would feature 64 men’s and 32 women’s teams with no permanent members—unlike the initial version. Membership would be based on a team’s performance in domestic leagues, and matches would be held mid-week—a similar format to the Champions League. The new proposal was still met with harsh criticism, with the Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga, and France’s Ligue 1 all coming out against the proposal.
Crucial Quote
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin mocked the idea at a press conference, telling Reuters “they can create whatever they want. I hope they start their fantastic competition as soon as possible, with two clubs.”
Further Reading
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