European Super League football

[lindosfan1]

New European superleague idea being adopted by some clubs, not the French and Gremans is causing an almighty row.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56794673

[PeteC]

European Super League: Premier League's 'Big Six' agree to join new league

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/56795811

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham are among 12 clubs who have agreed to join a new European Super League (ESL).

In a seismic move for European football, the Premier League clubs will join AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid.

The ESL said the founding clubs had agreed to establish a "new midweek competition" with teams continuing to "compete in their respective national leagues".

It says the inaugural season "is intended to commence as soon as practicable" and "anticipated that a further three clubs will join" the breakaway.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Uefa and the Premier League condemned the move when news of it broke on Sunday.

In a statement, the ESL said: "Going forward, the founding clubs look forward to holding discussions with Uefa and Fifa to work together in partnership to deliver the best outcomes for the new league and for football as a whole.

"The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model.

"In recent months, extensive dialogue has taken place with football stakeholders regarding the future format of European competitions.

"The founding clubs believe the solutions proposed following these talks do not solve fundamental issues, including the need to provide higher-quality matches and additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid."

Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer will be a vice-chairman of the Super League.

He said: "By bringing together the world's greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid."
What is the proposed format?

The league will have 20 teams - the 12 founding members plus the three unnamed clubs they expect to join soon and five sides who qualify annually according to their domestic achievements.

It will start in August, with midweek fixtures, and the clubs will be split into two groups of 10, who play each other home and away.

The top three in each group qualify for the quarter-finals, with the teams in fourth and fifth playing a two-legged play-off for the two remaining spots.

From then, on it will have the same two-leg knockout format used in the Champions League before a single-leg final in May at neutral venue.

More to follow.

[PeteC]

An awful lot of huffing & puffing, ranting and foot stomping concerning this one. Undoubtedly some sour grapes, but probably some justified. The great football gods feel threatened and under attack!

[Dannie Boy]

This is all about money and nothing to do with football - if it does go ahead, it will be the beginning of the end for the game so many love (P Harvey excluded)!!

[arcadianagain]

We have to look at where the money will come from. Television. So fans who want to watch this competition will have to pay increased fees, I suspect season ticket holders will have to pay extra and recent matches with no fans will be a sign of things to come.

[lindosfan1]

On reading this it is only 12 teams that want to form a new league, 6 from Spain and 6 from England. Nobody seems to like the idea, it is political posturing because they do now like the new proposals for the champions league. My prediction, it will not happen.

[caller]

I think it's dead in the water before it even starts and good riddance to.

Not just Spain and England as AC Milan are in the mix.

The three American owners of of Arsenal, United and Liverpool seem to be the drivers from the UK, replicating the franchises they are involved in in the US.

Besides, how can Arsenal and the spuds be included in a super league?

[Big Boy]

For me, with some of those names i.e. mid-table Premier League teams, somebody has delusions of grandeur. There's nothing super about that league - a couple of good teams, and a few not so good.

[pharvey]

The ESL said the founding clubs had agreed to establish a "new midweek competition" with teams continuing to "compete in their respective national leagues".

If the likes of UEFA, FIFA and the EPL are against it, surely these clubs could/would be dropped from both their respective national leagues and other European/UEFA competitions? Could players involved be banned from international competitions (Euro/WC)?

If this was the case, surely it would be a huge money loss for those involved?

This is all about money and nothing to do with football - if it does go ahead, it will be the beginning of the end for the game so many love (P Harvey excluded)!!

Come on, I'm not that bad!! - you mention "WB" once or twice and it's never forgotten by some.... Yes, no doubt the American owners (amongst others) are looking at the money - but as I mentioned above, I would think they're shooting themselves in the foot with potential bans - in this day and age, the legal wrangling could go on for years, costing millions and a huge loss of faith/trust.... Only MHO.

[Lost]

Besides, how can Arsenal and the spuds be included in a super league?

Not sure why the Arse are there, but spuds have got the best football stadium in the world to host such events. So we get an invitation because of that... not because of the quality of our football.

First promotional trailer released.

[HarryVardon]

The current system is wrong so something has to change. As well as the money-grabbing situation, teams currently have to play too many matches (many of them of little importance) and the international breaks are extremely annoying. The new Super League idea is not good but neither is the idea to revamp the Champions League. We have to go to salary cap system to make all teams more equal or accept that the richer clubs have more rights than the poorer ones. I was brought up in the salary cap era. The maximum wage for a professional footballer was 20 pounds a week with a 4 pound bonus for a win. All the teams in the first division then were more or less equal and all had top class players. A team like Bolton could compete on equal terms with a team like Manchester United. Money is and has always been a problem in football. In the salary cap days the shareholders of the clubs kept all the money. Since then the players have been taking a major share along with the shareholders. It must not be forgotten that FIFA, UEFA, FA, etc. have also made huge amounts of money in the last 30-40 years. They are also frightened of losing this money if things change.

[pharvey]

Well, there you go then...... Not too sure how legal this move would be, but presumably another nail in the coffin of the supposed "Super League".

"Uefa’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, has insisted that players who join the new European Super League will be banned from World Cups and European Championships if the breakaway materialises.

Ceferin admitted it was unlikely a ban would come into effect in time for Euro 2020, which starts in June, but left no one in any doubt at his anger at the Super League, which he called a “disgraceful and self-serving proposal from clubs motivated by greed”."


https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... uefa-chief

[EDIT] "High-end" Wendyball is all about money/greed, just look at the salaries - are UEFA, FIFA et al simply worried about losing income themselves?

[dtaai-maai]

"High-end" Wendyball is all about money/greed, just look at the salaries - are UEFA, FIFA et al simply worried about losing income themselves?

Absolutely, total panic in the corridors of football power.

I'm reminded of the Packer years, which had a huge (and beneficial) impact on international cricket. It's not a direct comparison, but football surely needs something to shake it up, albeit for different reasons than cricket 40 years ago.

One thing I'd like to see, which ain't gonna happen, is a wage cap. Not a silly one, like the original was, I don't want pro footballers on a par with supermarket shelf stackers (though many of them are, in the lower divisions). Let the top stars earn a million a year by all means (plus all the extras they get from advertising and promotions, etc.), but not a couple of million a month.

[arcadianagain]

I think it's dead in the water before it even starts and good riddance to.

Not just Spain and England as AC Milan are in the mix.

The three American owners of of Arsenal, United and Liverpool seem to be the drivers from the UK, replicating the franchises they are involved in in the US.

Besides, how can Arsenal and the spuds be included in a super league?

Not sure about Spurs but it`s all to do with marketability, will the Chinese fans be interested in Leicester and West Ham or Arsenal, rightly or wrongly. Many Arsenal fans have wanted their American owner out, but what of Chelsea fans, they have supported their owner because of the money he has pumped into the club. Do they still support him in this venture.

[pharvey]

With the backlash from clubs, fans and government alike, this is surely dead in the water - even royalty getting involved....

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... s-minister