The European Super League has been announced by 12 of the biggest clubs in Europe, and the competition could begin as early as August 2021.
The clubs that announced the Super League have left ECA and its President Andrea Agnelli resigned, becoming the Super League vice president along with Manchester United’s co-chairman Joel Glazer and Liverpool’s John Henry. Real Madrid Chairman Florentino Perez has been named Super League President.
European Super League Details
The clubs have released a joint statement announcing the tournament’s format, which is:
- The 15 founding members would each get a share of €3.5Bn in ‘initial infrastructure grants’, with the money split among four tiers of clubs, with the top six each getting €350M.”
- The Super League hopes to generate €4Bn annually from broadcasters, with the 15 founding clubs taking the greatest slice of broadcasting revenue.
- The 20 participating clubs with 15 Founding Clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season.
- Midweek fixtures with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional domestic match calendar which remains at the heart of the club game.
- An August start with clubs participating in two groups of ten, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter finals. Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions. A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.
Some clubs are pushing for the competition to kickoff this summer, after the Euros, probably so they will receive their initial founders payment.
This announcement has upended European football. A UEFA executive committee is scheduled to meet on Monday to announce new plans for the Champions League tournament. I am sure that the European Super League will be the first item on the agenda because with this announcement, UEFA’s premier club tournament has lost all its luster and appeal.
Assuming that PSG, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund join the breakaway league, then seven of the eight quarter-finalists in the Champions League this season could be playing in the European Super League next season.
