Revamped, European Superliga tries to resurface – 02/10/2023 – Marina Izidro

I saw a British journalist describe the Super League as “that bad smell you can’t get rid of”. The comment came after the new proposal presented for the creation of this independent league of European clubs. But the revamped idea has at least one big problem.

Launched in April 2021, the first version of the Superliga was so controversial that it didn’t even last 48 hours. The plan was to have fixed members – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid – and 20 teams in total. An exclusive club for the richest with a parallel competition to compete with the Champions League. Fans protested, coaches, commentators and players disapproved, Uefa and Fifa threatened to ban clubs and athletes, and even the then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson got involved, promising a law to prevent the adhesion of the English. The idea was dormant, but not abandoned, mainly by Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and Juventus.

In the new attempt, the director of A22 Sports Management –responsible for the project– said this week that he spoke with almost 50 European clubs, without mentioning which ones, and set up the basis of what would be the new Superliga. More inclusive and trying to correct controversies, it proposes the participation of up to 80 clubs based on sporting merit, that is, no one would be guaranteed; all disputing national championships; more than one division; each member playing at least 14 games per season, for stability and income.

This time the reactions were smaller, less angry and more creative. Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, said that the Superliga is the big bad wolf disguised as a granny in the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The England and Wales Supporters Association called it a zombie league. A reporter for the main English sports channel called the announcement a “public relations ploy” out of “jealousy of the success of the Premier League”. The organization representing 40 leagues with more than 1,000 European clubs said it had not been consulted.

And there’s that problem. Premier League clubs snubbed the new proposal and have not publicly commented. Apparently, it would not be interesting financially and strategically. And even if they wanted to, they couldn’t even enter. Under the league’s code of conduct, they pledged not to “collaborate towards the creation of new competition formats outside Premier League rules”. A message to the Super League that can be reinforced by the British government in a proposed law to regulate football to be released this month. Also, in 2021, important voices of English football, such as Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp, choired against a parallel league and supported Champions.

The director of A22 included a surgical phrase in his statement: to guarantee the participation of at least the 27 countries of the European Union – of which the United Kingdom has not been a member since Brexit came into force.

Survival also depends on the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union, in the coming months, regarding UEFA’s authority to punish clubs that participate in the Superliga – last December, the court’s attorney general was favorable to UEFA and FIFA. But, without the clubs in the world’s main championship, the Superliga can even get off the ground. Whether it has a chance of success is another story.

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