There is no promotion or relegation. merely a closed facility for elite clubs in Europe. Also, two years on, the European Super Association has not completely disappeared at this point. The news broke on April 21, 2021, and it caught even the sport’s most seasoned figures by surprise.
The European Super League was what?
The Super League was an invite-only, “closed shop” league that included some of the biggest clubs in the sport. There would be no promotion or chance of being relegated.
The plans were to have 12 teams in the league that were guaranteed spots season after season, as well as an additional three teams that would change depending on other factors that were never made clear. The league was founded by Andrea Agnelli, who previously held the position of chairman of Juventus.
The groups engaged with the European Super Association were as per the following:
England, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Italy, Juventus, Inter, Milan, Spain, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy, Italy
The possibility of the Super Association was that the 12 clubs would leave the Bosses Association contest and UEFA behind, and run their own self-controlled first class rivalry.
What did people think?
Depending on which nation you were listening to, the responses to the proposals varied significantly. There was outrage in England. Not only was the idea repugnant to the majority of football fans, but fans of the individual clubs involved also felt betrayed and ashamed that their clubs were leading a project that tore apart the English football pyramid as we had known it for more than 125 years.
After 48 hours of chaos throughout the football world, the English clubs involved eventually listened, despite the restrictions imposed by Covid-19. By 11.30pm on 23rd April 2021, every one of the six clubs had pulled out of the undertaking. In the United Kingdom, fans staged massive protests and, in some instances, riots in response to the announcement of the plans. This was seen as a significant victory for the power of their voices in these matters. Before a league match against Liverpool, a large number of Manchester United fans, who dislike their American owners, the Glazer family, invaded the field in protest. The actions resulted in the game being postponed and sparked a significant debate regarding whether the club’s owners should sell it.
How the Super League currently looks
In Spain and Italy, the mentality was yet stays that this was their opportunity to get up to speed to the income levels of the Chief Association. The Premier League is the most popular football league in the world, as we recently reported. It attracts a global audience of over 3.5 billion people on average each year, which is more than a billion more than La Liga, which has the next-best number. If these clubs had signed up for the Super League, they could have received up to €1 billion in upfront fees just for participating. This would have significantly improved their financial situation and, from their point of view, made the playing field more level. Consequently, the Super League is not technically extinct.
“I think the Super Association is a zombie association, as it were that isn’t exactly dead, yet it’s stunning on searching for new things to get its teeth into,” made sense of Raphael Honigstein, European football essayist for The Athletic.
However, it does not appear to be fully alive or to pose a threat at this time. That is because the English clubs that were a part of the original format are no longer interested. For political reasons, the German parties have never been a part of it. It has not included any of the French teams or, without a doubt, PSG. As there’s no design to it. There is no credible TV partner available, and there is no income model associated with it. As a result, this proposal is currently impossible due to the initial uncertainties and subsequent consequences.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus are still committed to the Super League project, despite the English clubs’ withdrawal and promise to never participate in another Super League project.
This is because UEFA, which organizes the Champions League and imposes stringent financial requirements to participate in their competitions, does not treat them fairly. Barcelona and Juventus, in particular, have attempted to find loopholes in these rules, but their relationships with UEFA are not good.
The Super League was created with the intention of replacing the Champions League, as was previously mentioned. However, Juventus, Madrid, and Barcelona still require the revenue generated by their respective clubs through participation in UEFA’s Champions League, as the Super League cannot proceed without English clubs’ participation. The Champions League, on the other hand, would not be the same without those teams. After all, Real Madrid has won the most titles in that competition in history. As a result, these three clubs and UEFA must collaborate.
So, what might the Super League project do next? The probability is that it is probably not going to at any point emerge, as the impact of the English clubs is excessively significant. However, it is impossible to say with certainty whether the issue will truly ever be resolved, as other major European corporations continue to exert pressure on it.
