The late announcement on Sunday that twelve of Europe's biggest clubs have planned to form a "European Super League" has shocked the footballing world and created mass uncertainty over the future of the game.
Threats of expulsion, legal action and widespread condemnation from across the globe has not come as a massive shock, as the general opinion among football fans has always been that a so called Super League would be harmful for the sport. The formation of this competition is set to effect the sport in various ways from players possibly being banned from international football to widespread fan unrest.
What is the Super League?
The proposed Super League is set to be a midweek competition which will run alongside the usual domestic season and is to be made up of twenty clubs, fifteen as founders and five other spaces available to clubs who qualify annually based on achievements from the previous season.
These twenty teams are then to be separated into two groups of ten who play home and away with those finishing in the top three then progressing into the quarter finals. Teams who finish fourth and fifth will then play one another in a two two-legged play-off in order to claim the remaining quarter final spots. This will then progress into a traditional two legged knockout format as teams battle to reach the final.
Currently twelve clubs have confirmed themselves as founding members with teams from England, Italy and Spain formally announcing their participation.
🏴 Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham
🇮🇹 AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
🇪🇸 Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Domestic and Continental repercussions
Though the Super League has been created to run alongside the traditional football season it has created uncertainty over the future of current UEFA European competitions and domestic leagues. Many footballing governing organisations have come out against the proposed plans including the FA and each of the three leagues involved.
Link to the full statement put out by UEFA and co. https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/mediaservices/mediareleases/news/0268-12121411400e-7897186e699a-1000--statement-by-uefa-english-fa-rfef-figc-premier-league-laliga-le/
Threats over clubs involved being removed from current European competitions (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League etc) have been made and rumours of domestic league punishment and possible expulsion have been mentioned.
UEFA and other respectable football organisations made it clear in their statement that this proposal was something they fiercely oppose "all our member associations – will remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project, a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever."
Nothing has been set in stone just yet however clubs that pursue a place in the Super League could face point deductions and legal action should they ignore the disapproval from their respected leagues. These twelve clubs seem to be making a defiant stand against the traditions of football in a grab for more wealth and fame globally, this could be coming at the cost of losing their places in their own divisions and places on the current European stage.
Fan unrest and wider social impact
Unsurprisingly the announcement of the Super League has generated world wide fan unrest and disapproval with many seeing it as a financial power grab by Europes elite clubs. Attention has been put on the foreign ownership of these clubs which has created much disccusion since foreign influence reached the English game in particular.
Many fans have brought up the particular influence of American business people with Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool having American ownership. One of the states biggest banks JPMorgan is also set to be backing the Super League with $6 Billion in breakaway investment. Concern over American influence reaching English sport has been discussed for some time and the formation of an elite competition away from the traditional model is something that takes a lot of influence from American sport.
It is yet to be seen if the Super League will go ahead as it is still early in the development however social media talk online shows the clear distain fans of the beautiful game have for this move. Should this go ahead and these clubs face major punishment from footballing authorities it must be expected that some supporters will make their voices heard in other ways, possibly leading to marches and protests against the financial elites that are seemingly toying with their beloved clubs.
Though clubs like Manchester United are global brands with influence stretching across the globe they still hold major importance to the local communities they reside in. The act to have them compete more globally and abandon supporters for financial gain goes against core traditions and spits in the faces of those who have dedicated their lives to supporting them. It also comes at a poor time in the world with many still recovering from the impact of the recent global pandemic which is now being used as an excuse to forward the proposals for a Super League.
Various clubs have come out and openly criticised the plans with German sides like
Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich refusing to join partly in relation to the ownership structure which sees fans own a majority stake in the club. Porto and other European clubs have also showed their disapproval which will hopefully inspire more to stand with fans and the wider football world.
Impact on players
Footballers are some of the most privileged individuals in the world paid large amounts of money and revered by millions across the globe, many of them however are ambitious and dream of glory. The Super League creates many predicaments for these players as it could lead to to them being banned from playing in FIFA and EUFA competitions which could stop some of the worlds best like Harry Kane and Lionel Messi from playing at international level and in the Champions League.
Should the Super League cause those players involved to be banned from appearing in these tournaments and leagues surely there will be unrest from the players as they are now unable to compete in these world renowned competitions. Ambitious individuals like Kane who is set to captain England in the upcoming Euro's may be unable to compete due to their parent clubs plans. Players also often have competition bonuses in their contracts so the clubs involved may face issues in renewing and committing to current deals if they are removed from the competition in question.
There has yet to be any kind of statements put out by players who represent the twelve clubs confirmed but it must be a matter of time until we hear from them in some way. Prominent football spokespeople have come out including former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, former Arsenal Midfielder Mesut Özil and various pundits making their opinions heard. Expect this ongoing story to develop and progress over the coming days and weeks as it seems like the push for a European Super League isn't going to be going away anytime soon.
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