The Super League
The Super League ( German "Super League"), short Super League was a project that in April 2021 of twelve football clubs from England ( Arsenal , Chelsea , Manchester City , Manchester United , Tottenham Hotspur ), Italy ( AC Milan , Inter Milan , Juventus Turin ) and Spain ( FC Barcelona , Atlético Madrid , Real Madrid) was triggered. A league with 20 teams should be established, for which in addition to 15 permanent members five other teams should be able to qualify for one season each. The motives of the clubs, in the media, among others as Dirty Dozen referred were thought to be mainly financial, because the current marketing of the UEFA discharged Champions League regard as insufficient. The competition was to be marketed by the Spanish company European Super League Company . The games - like the Champions League - should have taken place during the week, as the clubs planned to continue to compete in their national leagues.
The announcement sparked a massive response with almost exclusively negative reactions, fan protests and it was sharply criticized from various sides. Less than 48 hours after the league was announced, the six English clubs withdrew. All other clubs followed shortly, except for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Speculations about such a league, which was optionally referred to as the Super League or the European Super League , had been in the room since the late 1980s, but were always rejected, among other things because UEFA was responsible for the existing European Cup competitions, in particular the Champions League , repeatedly reformed and made financially more lucrative.
prehistory
First plans in the late 1980s
In 1988, when a football yearbook was presented in Great Britain , Alex Fynn, who was then working for the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency , presented a ten-point plan for modernizing football, which was in crisis at the time. He suggested that the leading clubs on the continent should play in a European super league. After Flynn won over the then owner of AC Milan , Silvio Berlusconi , a concept was presented to UEFA that was supposed to reform the European Cup of the time, including a change of mode away from the knockout system towards the introduction of groups.
UEFA initially refused. After Berlusconi had informed other clubs such as Real Madrid of his plans and thus increased the pressure on UEFA, the latter then implemented a large part of the demands for the 1992/93 season , renamed the European Cup in the UEFA Champions League and reformed the competition fundamental to prevent the top clubs from splitting off. As a result, UEFA was repeatedly put under pressure. At the end of the 1990s, plans by the Italian advertising company Media Partners became known that the 16 most important European clubs would split off from UEFA. Again, countermeasures were taken, the number of participants in the Champions League increased from 24 to 32 and the limitation of one participating club per nation was lifted.
Various investors' plans for 2016
After there had been no new intentions for a Super League for a while, several plans of various investors became known in spring 2016. The Chinese property developer Dalian Wanda Group, for example, announced plans to compete with the Champions League, with or without the participation of UEFA. Shortly before, the President of the European Club Association, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge , did not rule out “that a European league will be founded in the future in which the big teams from Italy, Germany, England, Spain and France play, whether from UEFA or privately organized". Around the same time, US billionaire Stephen M. Ross was in consultation with five English Premier League clubs about establishing a European Super League.
It was unclear how serious these considerations were or whether it was just - as some observers suspected - a threat to UEFA to make the Champions League financially more lucrative. For the 2018/19 season, the clubs from the most important European leagues got more planning security, because England, Spain, Germany and Italy were guaranteed four safe starting places (instead of the previous three) for the first time.
Published in Football Leaks 2018
Documents published by the Football Leaks platform in 2018 indicated that the introduction of a Super League should be imminent. Accordingly, the European Super League was planned to start in the 2021/22 season. The league should be operated privately by the Spanish company ESLCO , which cooperates with Real Madrid . A collaboration with UEFA was not planned.
Among the founding members are eleven top clubs, including FC Bayern Munich . Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, however, affirmed that they stand for membership in the Bundesliga and, “as long as I am Chairman of the Board of Management of FC Bayern, also for the club competitions jointly organized by UEFA and ECA”. Hans-Joachim Watzke confirmed talks about a Super League, but ruled out participation if Borussia Dortmund left the Bundesliga.
Plan for a "European Premier League" 2020
The Liverpool and Manchester United are planning a new project, it was learned in October 2020th The “European Premier League” is planned as a tournament to be supported by FIFA . However, the project is not intended to replace the national leagues, but rather to be an additional event. Donors are expected to support the tournament with five billion euros.
Announcement of the “Super League” in April 2021
The 12 founding members
Locations of the 12 founding members |
On April 18, 2021, twelve European football clubs announced a competition called "The Super League". These were the following clubs, with the operators of the new league expecting three other clubs to join. These 15 members would have been permanently represented in the league. The founding members make up the majority of the financially strongest football clubs in Europe. In the Deloitte Football Money League , a list of the football clubs with the highest turnover and income, they have occupied twelve of the top places for years.
| Country (national league) | member | city | Champions League title * | Last Champions League participation * | Deloitte Football Money League * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 England ( Premier League ) |
Arsenal FC | London | no | 2016/17 | 11 |
| Chelsea FC | London | 1 ( 2012 ) | 2020/21 | 8th | |
| Liverpool FC | Liverpool | 6 (last 2019 ) | 2020/21 | 5 | |
| Manchester city | Manchester | no | 2020/21 | 6th | |
| Manchester United | Stretford - Old Trafford | 3 (last 2008 ) | 2020/21 | 4th | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | London | no | 2019/20 | 9 | |
 Italy ( Serie A ) |
AC Milan | Milan | 7 (last 2007 ) | 2013/14 | 30 ** |
| Inter Milan | Milan | 3 (last 2010 ) | 2020/21 | 14th | |
| Juventus Turin | Turin | 2 (last 1996 ) | 2020/21 | 10 | |
 Spain ( Primera División ) |
FC Barcelona | Barcelona | 5 (last 2015 ) | 2020/21 | 1 |
| Atlético Madrid | Madrid | no | 2020/21 | 13th | |
| real Madrid | Madrid | 13 (last 2018 ) | 2020/21 | 2 |
organization
The following leadership of the Super League was announced:
| function | Surname | annotation | since |
|---|---|---|---|
| president |
Florentino Perez
|
President of Real Madrid | 2021 |
| Vice president |
Andrea Agnelli
|
President of Juventus Turin | 2021 |
| Vice president |
 Joel Glazer
|
Owner of Manchester United | 2021 |
mode
In the announcement of April 18, some rough plans and structures were published. According to this, the founding clubs should be responsible for the organization of the league themselves, with the European Super League Company, SL , which was founded specifically for the Super League and which is closely related to Real Madrid, to market the league. Before the first season, three more clubs that have not yet been established are to act as founding members. According to the plans, these 15 members would be permanently entitled to participate in the Super League, regardless of their performance in the national leagues. The right to participate in a regular competition, which is not linked to any sporting conditions, would represent a one-time event in European professional football.
In addition to the 15 founding members, 5 other teams should be able to qualify for the competition, although the criteria for this are not known, and the start date was not specified by the authors of the announcement. The 20 teams are then supposed to compete against each other in two groups of 10 in the first and second leg , followed by a knockout phase , also with two-way legs , with the final final in a neutral location. A total of 193 games per season are estimated. The games are to take place during the week so as not to “affect the flow of the national leagues”. The founding members hope for "significantly greater economic growth and support for European football".
Finances
The US bank JPMorgan Chase announced that it will finance the Super League with 3.5 billion euros, which will be earmarked for the development of the clubs' infrastructure and to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic .
motto
The Super League's motto is “The best clubs. The best players. Every week. ”( English for“ The best clubs. The best players. Every week ”).
criticism
The announcement sparked a massive response and was sharply criticized from various sides. The twelve founding members were referred to as the Dirty Dozen .
Participating clubs
player
Liverpool players like James Milner and Jordan Henderson released a statement rejecting the Super League. “We don't like it and we don't want it to happen,” it says. Even Kevin de Bruyne from Manchester City distanced himself from the Super League: The most important word was for him "competitive", an allusion to the lack of opportunities to qualify for the proposed Super League.
environment
In the vicinity of some of the clubs involved in the founding of the Super League, unrest broke out immediately after the plans became known. In particular, the resistance of fans of English club was enormous, so it came ahead of the Premier League match between Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion to a blockage of the approach road of the Chelsea bus that only after a debate with Petr Čech has been terminated . The game kicked off 15 minutes later, a rare occurrence in the Premier League.
General football scene
The UEFA , the Premier League , La Liga and Serie A as well as the football associations of England (FA), Spain (RFEF) and Italy (FIGC) shared in a joint statement with, "trying to stop cynical project" this. The Super League is "a project that is based on the self-interest of a few clubs - at a time when society needs more solidarity than ever." Accordingly, UEFA also stops the clubs participating in the Super League from participating in all competitions national, European and worldwide level as well as the exclusion of Super League players from world and European championships for possible.
The managing director of the German Football League (DFL), Christian Seifert , said that “the DFL rejects any concept of a European Super League”. The French Football Association warned of the “hegemonic dreams of an oligarchy ” that would “lead to the disappearance of a European system that has enabled football to develop unprecedented on the European continent”.
The European Club Association opposed its own chairman Andrea Agnelli , who, along with Juventus Turin, is one of the supporters of the Super League. The organization insisted on rejecting the rumored model. The fan association Football Supporters Europe issued a statement calling on the associations to “act immediately to protect European football”. The Super League is "the last nail in the coffin of European football".
politics
Government officials from the three countries from which clubs are founding members of the Super League disapproved of the plans of the twelve clubs. The conservative British government around Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed its opposition most clearly. While Johnson himself described the plans as "very detrimental to football", the Minister of Culture and Sports Oliver Dowden mentioned the possibility of applying antitrust law . They "will do whatever it takes, because this approach is against the spirit of the game," said Dowden in a statement. The Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi was also critical of the European Super League project: "The Italian government is resolutely supporting the position of the Italian and European football authorities in order to preserve national competitions, performance-oriented values and the social function of sport."
Reactions
Associations
“The players who play in the Super League will no longer be able to play World Cup and European Championship , they will no longer be able to represent their national team. Not only the football world but also society and governments oppose this nonsense of a project based on greed. You spit in the face of all fans and society with this cynical idea. "
“At the UEFA Congress in Montreux, the 55 member associations issued a joint statement condemning the creation of a so-called Super League in the strongest possible terms. Such plans are a threatening outgrowth of turbo capitalism and are in stark contrast to the values of sport. I welcome the full unity of UEFA, FIFA, the associations and leagues. Otherwise there is a risk that football Europe will fall apart and the principle of solidarity will fall by the wayside. That would mean a devastating setback, especially for small and medium-sized nations like Austria, and shake the foundations of the grassroots. Associations and clubs across all skill levels have jointly brought football to where it is now for decades. This unity must not be split. Football is for everyone, not just a self-proclaimed elite. "
“The DFB is clearly positioning itself against the concept of a European Super League. In football, it always has to be about athletic performance. It determines the promotion and relegation as well as the qualification for the respective competitions. The economic interests of a few clubs must not give up the solidarity practiced in football. Each club will have to decide whether it wants to remain part of solidarity-based football as a whole or whether it wants to pursue solely selfish self-interest outside UEFA and the national football associations. The DFB is therefore clearly behind the express joint declaration by UEFA with the leagues and national associations from England, Italy and Spain. "
League officials
“The economic interests of a few top clubs in England, Italy and Spain must not result in the abolition of established structures throughout European football. In particular, it would be irresponsible to irreparably damage the national leagues as the basis of European professional football in this way. I therefore support the joint declaration by UEFA with the leagues and national associations from England, Italy and Spain. "
“Now some clubs have dropped their masks and shown what they really stand for. In the past few years they have regularly conjured up the threat of the Super League in order to bring about changes in the field of participants and the distribution key in the UEFA club competitions in their favor, and now they have acted on their threat. As a result, the financial weight in particular has shifted significantly in favor of the big clubs in recent years, which has meanwhile had massive effects on the level playing field in the international, but above all also in the national competitions. "
“The plans contradict any values that we actually live by. It's all about the commercial product football. […] The plans are absolutely devastating for international club football, but of course also for national football. […] Swiss clubs finally take part in international UEFA competitions. And these competitions are acutely at risk in a super league. […] [One consequence is] that there would be massively less money in total in the competitions. Most recently, the Uefa said that these funds, which must be used for the purpose of youth football, will be larger in the future. With a super league as a competing product, that would certainly no longer be the case. "
societies
“It's a crime against football. Whoever wants to play in this league has to be sorted out from all national leagues. With all teams. The youth, the women - then everyone has to get out. The fact that Bayern and Dortmund do not participate shows that they have backbone. For a club where the fans sing You'll Never Walk Alone , that's shameful. "
“FC Bayern did not participate in the planning of a Super League. We are convinced that the current statics in football guarantee a serious basis. [...] I don't think the Super League will solve the financial problems of European clubs that arose from Corona . Rather, all clubs in Europe should work in solidarity to ensure that the cost structure, in particular the players' salaries and the fees for the consultants, are adjusted to the income in order to make European football more rational. "
“The goal of maximizing profit with a closed league is placed above fair competition. Once again it is clear: Investors always pursue the goal of multiplying the invested money with a corresponding return. The founding idea, values and traditions of clubs are often irrelevant, sometimes even disruptive. I clearly reject this model. Football should remain diverse even in challenging times. Sporty, economical, social. Therefore, UEFA and FIFA have to put a stop to it. "
Player, coach
“A possible Super League would be a departure from 70 years of European club football. During my time at United we played four Champions League finals, and those were always very special evenings. Fans all over the world love the competition for what it is. "
“I fell in love with football, with the football of the fans. I had the dream to support my heart club in competition with the best. When this Super League comes, those dreams will be over. The illusions of the fans of the teams that are not the best when they compete in the competitions will end. I love football and can no longer remain silent! I believe in a Champions League and not that the rich steal what the people have created: nothing but the most beautiful sport in the world. "
"I sense that this Super League conspiracy is going to die on your absurd and greedy ass."
“It's an absolute shame. We have to fight back power in this country from the clubs at the top of the league - and that includes my club. The club I love and have supported all my life. […] It's pure greed, they are impostors […] Take all points from them, put them at the end of the league and take their money away from them. Seriously, you have to prevent that by force. It's a criminal act against the fans. Punish them! "
“Football is happiness, freedom, passion, fans and is for everyone. This project is disgusting, not fair and I am disappointed that clubs that I represented are involved. "
"If the SuperLeague is realized, it will destroy football with its national leagues as we know them, and that is a very sad thought for me."
Consequences of the negative reactions
Due to the protests, the six English clubs announced their exit less than 48 hours after the league was announced. Arsenal FC wrote: "We made a mistake, and we apologize for it" ("We made a mistake and we apologize for it"). Even John W. Henry , co-owner of Liverpool FC and Joel Glazer , owner of Manchester United, apologized to the fans. Ed Woodward , vice chairman of Manchester United, announced his resignation at the end of 2021.
The Super League abandoned its plans on April 21, 2021 and announced that it would redesign the project. In the course of the day, the Italian clubs and Atlético Madrid were exited.
As a result of the failed project, the share prices of Juventus Turin and Manchester United collapsed.
Web links
literature
- Drewes, M./Rebeggiani, L. (2019): The European Super League in football: possible scenarios from a sport and competition economics point of view, in: SCIAMUS - Sport and Management 4/2019 [1] .
- Hoehn, T./Szymanski, S. (1999): The Americanization of European Football; in: Economic Policy, April, pp. 205-239.
- Pijetlovic, K. (2015): EU Sports Law and Breakaway Leagues in Football, Springer.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Uli Hesse: The rich have even more coal. In: 11freunde.de. November 2, 2018, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ Evolution of UEFA club competitions for 2018-21 cycle. (No longer available online.) In: uefa.com. August 26, 2016, archived from the original ; accessed on April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ Reactions to the possible super league: "This is a false report". In: sueddeutsche.de . November 4, 2018, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ Football Leaks: Top clubs are planning the Super League. In: sportschau.de. Retrieved April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ New plans for a European “Super League”? In: kicker.de . November 2, 2018, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ European Premier League: English top clubs are probably planning a new super league. In: sport1.de . October 21, 2020, accessed October 21, 2020 .
- ^ The Super League Press. In: thesuperleague.de. Retrieved April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ Deloitte Sports Business Group: Football Money League (January 2021)
- ↑ Chaled Nahar: Top clubs confirm the establishment of a Super League. In: tagesschau.de . April 19, 2021, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ Twelve top clubs confirm their participation in the Super League and provide details. In: kicker.de . April 19, 2021, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ Investment bank finances Super League . kicker.de, April 19, 2021, accessed on April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Meike Schreiber: Super League and JP Morgan. The bank behind the controversial football plans . SZ.de, April 20, 2021, accessed on April 20, 2021.
- ^ The Super League. Retrieved April 20, 2021 .
- ↑ The Super League has already collapsed , n-tv.de, April 21, 2021, accessed on April 21, 2021.
- ↑ This "dirty dozen" provokes Europe , n-tv.de, April 20, 2021, accessed on April 21, 2021.
- ↑ Super League: Red card for the "dirty dozen" , sportschau.de, April 20, 2021, accessed on April 21, 2021.
- ↑ a b Super League about to end? , on kicker.de
- ↑ De Bruyne versus the Super League , on marca.com
- ↑ a b c Super League becomes more concrete - UEFA defends itself against “cynical project”. In: kicker.de . April 19, 2021, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ After an emergency meeting: Club association reacts to Superliga plans and commits to UEFA. In: sportbuzzer.de. April 19, 2021, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ British government threatens to take action against antitrust law , on kicker.de
- ↑ Christian Hackl, Martin Schauhuber: Question and answer: What was this Super League about? In: derstandard.at. April 21, 2021, accessed on April 21, 2021 (Austrian German).
- ↑ Despite the Super League: UEFA-Exko decides to reform the CL , kicker.de, April 19, 2021, accessed on April 19, 2021.
- ↑ a b Joint statement by ÖFB and Bundesliga on Super League plans oefb.at, April 20, 2021, accessed on April 20, 2021
- ↑ a b c Rummenigge: "Super League does not solve the financial problems of European clubs". In: kicker.de . April 19, 2021, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ Nils Hänggi: CEO of the Swiss Football League sharply criticizes the Super League plans . 20 minutes, April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ↑ "This is a crime against football" , sueddeutsche.de, April 19, 2021, accessed on April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Rapid: Peschek railed against "Money League" laola1.at, April 19, 2021, accessed on April 20, 2021
- ↑ a b 3-minute angry speech - Gary Neville expresses what many think about the new Super League , watson.ch, April 19, 2021, accessed on April 19, 2021.
- ↑ a b Super League: Schweinsteiger angry. In: sport1.de . April 19, 2021, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ Neville upset: “Punish them! Take away all the points! ” In: kicker.de . April 19, 2021, accessed April 19, 2021 .
- ↑ Podolski on Super League: "Ekelhaft" , sport1.de, April 19, 2021, accessed on April 19, 2021.
- ↑ Super League before the end - all English clubs are withdrawing , sportschau.de, April 21, 2021, accessed on April 21, 2021.
- ^ John W Henry's message to Liverpool supporters , liverpoolfc.com, April 21, 2021, accessed April 21, 2021.
- ↑ Billionaire Glazer apologizes: "Too little respect for traditions" , kicker.de, April 21, 2021, accessed on April 21, 2021.
- ↑ Manchester United announces Ed Woodward to leave role at end of 2021 , manutd.com, April 20, 2021, accessed April 21, 2021.
- ^ Statement of the Super League: "The project to redesign" , kicker.de, April 21, 2021, accessed on April 21, 2021.
- ↑ OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM FC INTERNAZIONALE MILANO , inter.it, April 21, 2021, accessed on April 21, 2021.
- ↑ OFFICIAL STATEMENT , acmilan.com, April 21, 2021, accessed April 21, 2021.
- ↑ STATEMENT ON THE SUPER LEAGUE PROJECT , juventus.com, April 21, 2021, accessed April 21, 2021.
- ↑ Official statement , en.atleticodemadrid.com, April 21, 2021, accessed April 21, 2021.
- ↑ Juventus Turin shares plummet by more than twelve percent. In: Der Spiegel. Retrieved April 21, 2021 .