It is fair to say that this past weekend has been arguably the most tumultuous in
the history of football, certainly in the modern era. We already knew that UEFA was set to make an announcement on Monday about the future shape of a new and expanded Champions League.
However, that paled into insignificance on Sunday when it was announced that 12 top European clubs had agreed to join together to create a brand new European Super League. The new tournament being designed to usurp the Champions League and hand more power to the founding members of the competition.
The fallout from the announcement has been huge with condemnation across the football industry for the idea. Many have called for the 12 clubs to be sanctioned and one member of UEFA’s executive committee has even suggested that teams remaining in European competition this season, could be kicked out of the tournament on Friday.
This raises the prospect that Paris St Germain, who have rejected the chance to join the European Super League, could be crowned the Champions League winners this season, without having to play another game in the tournament.
So why has this announcement caused so much consternation throughout football and how has it come about and what does it mean for the future of the Champions League, domestic football and international football?
Why Was The European Super League Formed?
There have been a number of factors that have come into play regarding the creation of the European Super League. Firstly, due to the ongoing pandemic, most professional clubs have lost a significant amount of money in terms of revenue and the top clubs have been most affected by this.
Secondly, UEFA’s decision to change the Champions League to include more teams in the Group Stage is significant as it further dilutes the pot of money allocated to teams. Money which the top teams feel should be going to them, but which will instead go to other teams that qualify for the newly expanded tournament.
Thirdly, there is also growing dissatisfaction with the domestic game in a number of countries, notably in England, where the “Big Six” feel their voices are often ignored by the other 14 clubs in the Premier League.
The bigger clubs also feel that with television rights declining and the fact that they are the biggest draws in each of their respective leagues, that they deserve a larger percentage of the revenue distributed by those leagues and competitions.
Add to that the fact that bigger clubs want to control their own revenue streams, such as from streaming live games, image rights etc and you have the situation we have now, where 12 of the biggest names in European Football have joined together to effectively hold the football world to ransom.
Who Are The 12 Teams?
The 12 teams come from Italy, Spain and England and are:
- Italy – AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
- Spain – Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
- England – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham
It is believed that Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain were also approached to be part of the group, but declined to become a founding member.
The group has announced that it expects three more teams to join the group shortly, making 15 founder members.
What Is The European Super League Proposed To Be?
The European Super League (ESL) is proposed as an alternative to the Champions League. Teams would still (if allowed) compete in their domestic league but would also compete in this event.
The ESL would feature 20 teams each season. The 15 founder members would qualify automatically with the five remaining spots open to other teams through a qualification system that is as yet unclear.
The league would then be split into two groups of 10 teams, who would play each other home and away in the initial group phase. After which 8 teams would progress into the knockout phase, starting with the quarterfinals.
It is the fact that the 15 founding member clubs would have guaranteed entry into the event each year and allow just five others to compete alongside them, which has caused most upset although almost every aspect of the proposal has drawn fierce criticism.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said that he would push for all clubs and players from ESL clubs could be banned “as soon as possible” from all UEFA Competitions, including the World Cup and European Championships.
So What Happens With This Year’s Champions League?
Interestingly enough, if you head on over to bet365 Sport now and check out the
Champions League section, you can still bet on both of the first leg of the semifinal matches that are scheduled to take place later on in this month.
That is Real Madrid’s clash with Chelsea and Manchester City’s match against Paris St Germain.
However, if the threat to expel ESL clubs from the tournament is pushed through, then this would mean Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City would be expelled from the tournament, most likely immediately, leaving only PSG remaining in the tournament and likely, by default, to be named as the Champions.
That would be a wholly unsatisfactory end to the tournament, but it remains a very real prospect while both sides remain steadfast in their stance that they currently hold.
Negotiations?
It does seem likely that the only way forward with this issue is for both sides to begin negotiations on some form of a compromise. However, therein lies the problem as at the moment, both sets have very different ideas about how the future of football will look.
Organising bodies like FIFA and UEFA very much want to open up the game to nations and teams that have traditionally been in the shadow of the top teams. That is part of the reasoning by expanding the Champions League to include more of the teams that would ordinarily miss out on the group stage part of the tournament (which is the most lucrative).
However, the ESL clubs feel that as they are the main draws in these competitions, they deserve a greater say in what happens, a greater share of the financial side of things and to have a greater say in how the tournament is organised. They are not keen on further diluting their share of the finances by expanding the tournament to include more teams.
Whether any common ground can be found here remains to be seen but it is worrying time for the football industry and the future of the game.
Tags: bet365 Sport
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