European Super League

European Super League relaunch plans with blockbuster format

Published

2 months ago

February 9, 2023

The chief executive of the European Super League has confirmed plans to relaunch and create a breakaway competition to rival the Champions League.

Initial plans for the European Super League from back in 2021 were met with immense criticism from across Europe and significant protests from supporters ultimately saw English sides Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United withdraw their support.

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have remained committed to the plans and have battled UEFA and FIFA’s threats to hand out punishments to those clubs who attempted to break away from the current structure.

Now, two years after the first announcement, the European Super League have confirmed their fresh plans to create a merit-based competition which could include no fewer than 80 teams.

“The foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing.” executive Bernd Reichart told Die Welt.

“It’s time for a change. It is the clubs that bear the entrepreneurial risk in football. But when important decisions are at stake, they are too often forced to sit idly by on the sidelines as the sporting and financial foundations crumble around them.

“Our talks have also made it clear that clubs often find it impossible to speak out publicly against a system that uses the threat of sanctions to thwart opposition.

“Our dialogue was open, honest, constructive and resulted in clear ideas about what changes are needed and how they could be implemented. There is a lot to do and we will continue our dialogue.”

Reichart insisted that there would be no constant members of the new competition, which would be decided based on performances in domestic divisions and has now been designed to follow a similar format to that of the Champions League.

It has previously been reported that the group behind the Super League have spoken with over 50 teams to try and find support for the project, with a view to creating a competition which would be played between 80 teams every season.

Reichart hopes to have the Super League up and running by the 2024/25 season and is currently awaiting a ruling from the European Court of Justice over whether FIFA and UEFA have the power to stop clubs from competing.

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European Super League

European Super League formation backed by Real Madrid star

Published

1 month ago

February 17, 2023

Toby Cudworth

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has thrown his support behind the formation of a European Super League and says that clubs don’t need UEFA.

The idea of a European Super League was first floated in 2021, with the biggest and best sides on the continent revealing plans to breakaway from UEFA competition to form a closed-off rival product.

But after significant protests from fans, particularly from those in England, the clubs involved in the competition withdrew their support – though Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have remained committed to the project as they believe European football is in dire need of financial reform.

Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of A22 Sports – the company behind the European Super League – recently revealed a new ten principle plan aimed at reviving the concept, with as many as 80 teams potentially involved in a merit-based competition.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has already stated he’s not opposed to the idea of a European Super League, and Kroos has gone on record to say breaking away from UEFA-led competition may not be such a bad thing after all.

“I think we will see the Super League. And I believe so for several reasons,” Kroos said on the Einfach mal Luppen podcast.

“The idea of the Super League has changed and deserves to be heard. If you look carefully from both angles, you will see that UEFA is by no means a great Samaritan for football fans and that the Super League has no plans, at least in the second attempt, to exclude any team, because there will be no permanent founding members.

“It is a sports competition, an open tournament, but managed by the clubs and not by UEFA, because these clubs believe that they do not need UEFA for that. I think this deserves at least one chance.”

Kroos then cited the example of tennis greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal continually going toe-to-toe in Grand Slam finals as evidence of fans enjoying seeing the best compete with one another over and over again.

“Although we have already talked about the loss of passion for football, I believe that the Super League has the opportunity to reverse that situation. Let there be more enthusiasm and emotion for the games that we will be able to see.

“Because in the end, let’s not fool ourselves, many people always say: ‘Who wants to see Real Madrid against Manchester City every week?’ But have you gotten tired of watching Federer against Nadal over and over again? I don’t. That’s my opinion.”

Kroos speaks from experience of playing at the highest level for a number of years. He has won the Champions League five times – once with Bayern Munich and four times with Real Madrid – and is one of the most decorated footballers of the modern era.

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