By Andrew Warshaw
January 21 – In a rare collective show of strength, FIFA and its six individual confederations have threatened a World Cup ban on players who take part in any proposed European Super League – and have been simultaneously backed by Europe’s leagues.
With momentum gathering over a potential threat to the status quo, FIFA said any attempt by leading European clubs to create a breakaway competition “would not be recognised by either FIFA or the respective confederation”.
“Any club or player involved in such a competition would as a consequence not be allowed to participate in any competition organised by FIFA or their respective confederation,” continued the statement, signed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino along with the heads of all six continental confederations – Asia’s Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, acting Confederation of African Football leader Constant Omari, Concacaf’s Victor Montagliani, Conmebol’s Alejandro Domínguez, Oceania’s Lambert Maltock and last but very much not least, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin.
The statement was in response to what FIFA called “recent media speculation” about a Super League involving some of the world’s richest clubs.
The prospect of Europe’s elite clubs breaking away to do their own thing has been mooted for years despite UEFA steadfastly insisting it is a non-starter and national federations threatening to throw any clubs who join it out of their domestic leagues.
Last October reports emerged of US banking giant JP Morgan in talks with top-flight European clubs in in Spain, England, Italy, Germany and France, over a game-changing $6bn (£4.6bn) plot to launch a European football league. Reports said it would be FIFA-backed. The potential start date was suggested as being as early as 2022.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is the main protagonist of such a tournament while outgoing Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu dramatically revealed back in October that his club intended to join any new elite competition.
But FIFA has made it clear the consequences would be considerable.
“The universal principles of sporting merit, solidarity, promotion and relegation, and subsidiarity are the foundation of the football pyramid that ensures football’s global success and are, as such, enshrined in the FIFA and confederation statutes,” its statement continued.
“Football has a long and successful history thanks to these principles. Participation in global and continental competitions should always be won on the pitch.”
There is an obvious reason why constant talk of a European breakaway league is a thorn in the side of FIFA’s heirarchy.
Much is expected, when it finally takes place, of FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup and Infantino is keen for it to take of pride of place in the global football calendar, and not be overshadowed.
“The confederations recognise the FIFA Club World Cup, in its current and new format, as the only worldwide club competition while FIFA recognises the club competitions organised by the confederations as the only club continental competitions,” the statement added pointedly.
At the very same time, presumably planned in advance, the umbrella body for Europe’s major leagues expressed its own opposition to any super league proposal.
European Leagues president Lars-Christer Olsson said his board had “discussed the initiative of some European football clubs to create a closed European Super League for a limited number of clubs similar to those franchise models operating in north America”.
“We are determined to protect the existing model and how football is organised in Europe and the way the industry works for professional football.”
“All football associations and professional leagues in Europe are recognising and following FIFA and confederation statutes, and this will guide us in our actions to stop this initiative.
“If the initiative is put in motion, we will coordinate our measures with UEFA, FIFA and the confederations.”
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