December 22 – Despite widespread condemnation, the sports development company behind a possible new European Super League, A22, has outlined its plans for the tournament following Thursday’s judgement by the European Court of Justice that UEFA’s rules restricting the creation of new competitions were unlawful.
A22 has proposed a format of 64 men’s teams split into three leagues and 32 women’s teams split into two playing midweek matches in a league system across Europe.
During a presentation aired on YouTube, A22 CEO Bernd Reichart (pictured) declined to name any clubs that could become part of the new league but said fans would be able to watch matches free of charge on a streaming platform with income generated by advertising, premium subscriptions and sponsorship.
The proposal, a major threat to the Champions League, was announced immediately after the ECJ’s judgement that UEFA and FIFA had contravened EU law.
“This vision is based on extensive consultation with a wide range of football stakeholders across Europe and built on our core principles including participation based on sporting merit (and) no permanent members,” A22 said in a statement. “Participating clubs stay in their domestic leagues which remain the foundation of European football.
“Now that clubs can determine their own future at European level, we look forward to further engagement with a broad set of football stakeholders to achieve the objective of all great sporting competitions.”
A22 said income would be guaranteed for the first three years and that the proposal was the result of “extensive dialogue” with fans, players, clubs and leagues over the past two years, the group said.
In theory the verdict means European clubs can join another continental league without the threat of sanctions instead of playing in competitions run solely by UEFA. However, there is no guarantee any major clubs will sign up for the new competition.
The two clubs still investing in the project, namely Real Madrid and Barcelona, welcomed the ECJ verdict although UEFA insist they have already installed new rules that prevent teams from joining the breakaway.
It is claimed the competition would initially be open to all teams based on their domestic performance, with promotion and relegation between the leagues – a vital change from the aborted 2021 attempt.
The proposed format for the men’s competition sees 64 teams in three leagues — Star, Gold and Blue. The Star and Gold Leagues will have 16 clubs each while the Blue League has 32 clubs.
Teams will play home and away in groups of eight. A group stage of 14 games, seven home and seven away, would produce an eight-team knockout tournament for each league, and eventual trio of winners.
Reichart claimed that the league would be paid for by a “fan-centric streaming platform” and as-yet unnamed “investors”. ” There are clubs who are really interested in our proposal and to learn more and to contribute. This is a unique opportunity to rethink how football is presented to the fans.”
Reichart said the new proposals were not a threat to national leagues and that they were designed to unite clubs, not divide them.
“It’s open, it’s meritocratic, it’s accessible,” he said. “The right to dream is alive as it probably has never been alive before. So solidarity, openness, and meritocracy are cornerstones of our proposal.”
“At the moment clubs can perform extremely well at the European level, yet still not be in the same competition the subsequent year. This is viewed as unfair and not consistent with the concept of sporting merit.”
Despite A22’s efforts, most of the major leagues including the Premier league, Bundesliga 1, LaLiga and Ligue1 as well as clubs including Manchester United and Bayern Munich have already reiterated they would not support a new-look breakaway Super League.
“The ruling does not endorse the so-called ‘European Super League’ and the Premier League continues to reject any such concept,” the Premier League said in a statement.
The Spanish league described the A22 project as “a selfish and elitist model”
“Anything that is not fully open, with direct access only through the domestic leagues, season by season, is a closed format.”
Manchester United added: “Our position has not changed. We remain fully committed to participation in UEFA competitions, and to positive cooperation with UEFA, the Premier League, and fellow clubs through the ECA on the continued development of the European game.”
And Bayern Munich said that “such a competition would be an attack on the importance of the national leagues and the structure of European football.”
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