UEFA: REVOLUTION CANCELLED

An event, which has long been pending in European football, took place. Twelve rich football clubs, which lost a lion’s hare of income during the coronavirus pandemic, announced the creation of the European Super League. In other words, they officially launched a new project on April 19, which has always caused concern for UEFA. Twelve leading European clubs entered into an open confrontation with UEFA. However, the winner of the first bout was UEFA – in 48 hours the union made the project lose any support from the football community, while most of the project members announced their withdrawal from the so-called Super League.

Original idea

The short-lived European Super League was founded by the Spanish clubs Real, Barcelona, Atlético, Italian Inter, Juventus, Milan and English Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. According to the organisers, the project was supposed to start in August 2021 with twenty clubs, of which 15 would be the representatives of Spain, Italy, England, Germany, France, and the rest 5 - from other countries.

The main idea behind the Super League was to have its own competition of the largest, that is the richest clubs. They do not want to play with weaker teams, as this brings them less income, primarily from the broadcast of matches on television. In addition, the Super League participants also hoped to get rid of the need for long flights.

The idea of creating a Super League was raised several times, but each time it ended only with discussions. This time the project participants believed that they would be able to launch it finally, as they received good financial guarantees from sponsors.

American JP Morgan Chase wanted to become the general sponsor of the new tournament, announcing its readiness to invest a total of 6 billion euros in the Super League. According to the rules, each participating club would be paid 350 million euros, while all the 20 clubs would be divided in two groups, 10 teams in each. The final match would take place in a neutral stadium. It was also planned that the founders of the Super League would spend 3.5 billion euros from JP Morgan Chase funds to support the infrastructure and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

In the highest European football circles the idea of the Super League was considered an ‘American project’, since many of the 12 founding clubs are backed by American owners who have long viewed football not as a game for millions of people but as an opportunity to earn hundreds of millions dollars. Only business, nothing personal!

In addition, the clubs have incurred large loss due to the pandemic, and some clubs such as Milan, Arsenal, Manchester United have been rare guests in the UEFA Champions League lately, which is the main generator of income. Therefore, due to colossal financial losses, these clubs need new sources of income. In addition, Real, Barcelona, Italian and English clubs have huge debts. For example, Barcelona is on the verge of bankruptcy.

According to the founders, clubs supporting the Super League might have higher incomes compared to those from participation in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). The total prize pool for the Super League would exceed €10 billion, while the Champions League prize pool is only €2 billion.

Initially, it was planned to attract French and German companies but these clubs announced their refusal to participate. Later, France and Germany announced their support for the UEFA position.

In parallel with the announcement of the Super League, the founding clubs also announced their withdrawal from the European Clubs Association (ECA). President of Juventus, Andrea Agnelli, resigned from the posts of ECA President and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee. Florentino Perez (president of Real Madrid) was elected the President of the Super League, and Agnelli would become his deputy.

Agnelli was replaced in ECA by the vice-president of FC Bayern, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. He stated that the German football hegemon would not be involved in the creation of the new league and stressed the need for joint efforts by the entire European football community.

Fiasco in 48 hours

UEFA’s reaction to the new Super League was quick and efficient. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin criticised the initiative and announced his intention to impose sanctions on the clubs. In particular, the clubs will not be allowed to play in the national champions, players from these clubs will have limitations in the world and European championships. Čeferin immediately announced his readiness to make these clubs outcasts and exclude them from the football community. Toughness of Čeferin's position was based, among other things, on the political support that UEFA received from the leaders of European countries and national football associations. In addition, UEFA announced its readiness to withdraw the rebel clubs Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea, which made their way to the semifinals of the draw, from the current rally of the Champions League.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron said they would not recognise the Super League.

As a result, the football revolutionaries found themselves offside and began to declare their withdrawal from the Super League and their readiness to return to “their home, families, teams”.

Inter, Milan, Atletico, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham announced their withdrawal from the Super League. Arsenal have issued an open letter in which it apologised to UEFA. Thus, only Real, Barcelona and Juventus remained in the Super League. But they also began to look for an opportunity to withdraw from the project and at the same time save their face, saying that the launch of the Super League was simply suspended.

Thus, UEFA in 48 hours showed 12 clubs a yellow card, reserving the right, if necessary, to show a red card too. Meaning the disqualification of the clubs.

World sports, especially football, has turned into a financial project for many years. Since the reign of the former FIFA chief Josef Blatter, football competitions have begun to resemble commercial business ventures. As a result, club budgets, the cost of transfers and the salaries of football players began to grow faster than government revenues. Some clubs in Europe have turned even to some kind of states within a state. During the 9-month season, the players earned from 40 to 90 million US Dollars. Now the clubs are finding it difficult to pay such sums to their players, and the players are forced to compromise and agree to lower salaries.

According to many football experts, it is unlikely that clubs would have demonstrated persistence in launching the Super League. Most likely, it was a means of blackmailing the UEFA in order to knock out more money for themselves. UEFA really makes a lot of money. The Champions League brings billions to the European football organisation. However, the football revolutionaries hardly expected their proposal to face such a tough reaction from the football community. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that UEFA will agree to slightly increase the income of the leading clubs so that they somehow improve their financial situation.

The format of the Super League proposed by the organisers practically excluded clubs from small countries, for example, from Azerbaijan. It is clear that in Azerbaijan there are fans of all the clubs that tried to initiate the Super League. But its creation would deprive millions of fans in Europe of the opportunity to see their idols live.

Temporary pause?

UEFA has so far managed to pause the Super League project. But this does not mean that football oligarchs will not try to re-launch it. Perhaps in 5-6 years Real and Co. will again try to implement the idea of the Super League, and the next time they will be more prepared. In addition, there is still a desire to earn more money, which is the main locomotive of any business. Football these days is not just a game, but also a business with a huge turnover.

Meanwhile, UEFA has decided to change the format of the Champions League. In the 2024/2025 season, the qualifying stage will be abolished, and the total number of teams will increase from 32 to 36. Two of them will be admitted to the Wild Card competition. The so-called wild cards will be awarded to clubs that have not been able to win the right to play in the Champions League at the domestic championships, but have previously achieved success. According to the new format, the Champions League will be held according to the Swiss system. So, at the first stage, each team will play 10 matches - five home and away games. As a result, the standings will be formed and the teams that take the first eight places will automatically receive the right to play in the 1/8 finals of the Champions League. The clubs that took 9-24 places will compete in the playoff for the remaining eight licences. UEFA believes that this will take into account the proposals of the largest clubs, and the competition will become more spectacular.

And one final reminder. In 1954, a group of nations came together to create what is now known as UEFA. 25 years ago, the big clubs wanted to establish a new competition, which was later called the Champions League by UEFA. This time we heard about the idea of a Super League. Only time will show how this process ends. The reality is UEFA has so far managed to prevent a revolution in football, but the rebels are still there.