The European Super League competition may not be dead yet as the organisers of the ill-fated breakaway league have launched a revised plan for a new multi-tiered competition to compete with UEFA’s Champions League.
Spain-based A22 Sports Management has now, in a 10-principle document, proposed a new 80-team European football competition and has claimed to have talked to “nearly 50 European clubs” into breaking away from the existing structure.
Their efforts follow a legal battle which ended with the European Court of Justice advising the breakaway clubs to respect UEFA’s authority over European footballing competitions.
The document provides detail on an idea first conceived by A22 leaders in 2021 that their next proposal would be a more inclusive multi-tier competition involving more countries.
“Participation should be based on annual sporting merit and there should be no permanent members,” A22 said.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta, one of the still-standing backers, has said the Super League was “progressing” while urging for more negotiations between its promoters and existing soccer authorities.
The Failed European Super League Idea:
In 2021, twelve clubs from Spain, Italy and England launched the original plan to form a breakaway league that called for a 20-team league with 15 founders protected from relegation.
The idea lasted just two days past its announcement due to fulmination by fans and a legal threat posed by UEFA.
Only Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus publicly backed the case during the hearing in Luxembourg.
Why clubs insist on a breakaway League
Football clubs outside the Premier League have bemoaned the fact that they cannot compete with the financial pull of England who just underscored the beliefs with a record haul during the winter transfer window.
UEFA itself has introduced changes which will see increased games aimed at generating a 30% increase in revenue and prize money.
In the 2024-25 season, a 36-team Champions League, four more from the current 32, will guarantee eight games per club instead of six. The traditional group stage will be replaced by a league stage with single standings.
The new format will see the top eight teams advance to the round of 16, joined by winners in playoffs involving teams ranked Nos. 9-24. The two finalists will play 15 games throughout the competition.
UEFA has also said 108 teams will play in its revamped competitions starting in 2024, with 36 each in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
Disillusioned with the news, the rebel clubs are calling for a new competition to take away some of UEFA’s powers, the results of which are awaited.
