A historic ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has reignited speculation about a Super League, but this new attempt to create a new league bringing together Europe’s best teams quickly ran into huge obstacles. Most of the teams that were originally expected to participate in the competition rejected the project.
Article by Zachary Folk for Forbes USA – translated by Flora Lucas
The CJEU ruled that European football’s governing body, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), had a monopoly on football and could not interfere with clubs’ plans to create a European Super League after UEFA threatened to sanction clubs for creating the league. a new competition was originally proposed in 2021.
Spanish football giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona welcomed the court’s decision and recommitted to joining the Super League, with Real Madrid president 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, saying that “the European football community does not support the European Super League”.
The Premier League, home to five of the original twelve Super League clubs, said it “continues to reject any such concept” and six clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, Liverpool) have since confirmed that they will not participate in this new competition. Inter Milan have also strongly opposed the new proposal, but the other Italian clubs involved in the Super League (Juventus and AC Milan) are yet to comment.
“They can create whatever they want”
In April 2021, 12 clubs from England, Spain and Italy attempted to form the Super League, an elite international competition between some of the best teams from each country. The stated aim was to improve “the quality and intensity of existing European competitions” by offering the best clubs from each country a place to compete every week, not just during UEFA events such as the Champions League. However, the idea provoked strong reactions from fans, other teams and government officials, including then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
A22 Sport, the management company of the Super League, presented a new proposal for restarting the competition. This would include 64 men’s teams and 32 women’s teams, with no permanent members, unlike the original version. Membership would be based on a team’s performance in domestic championships, with matches played midweek in a Champions League-like format. The new proposal still attracted strong criticism, with the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Ligue 1 all speaking out against the project.
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin scoffed at the idea at a press conference Reuters : “They can create whatever they want. I hope they start their fantastic competition as soon as possible, with two clubs. »
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