Everything you need to know about the new European Super League proposals

Nearly two years on from the disastrous launch of the ESL, the competition’s organisers are gearing up once again to launch a new ‘and improved’ version of the controversial project. A22, the company formed to sponsor and assist with the creation of the league, revealed its new plans for the ESL earlier this month and they have gone down like a lead balloon as predicted. This time we were presented with a handy 10-point manifesto on how they have reinvented the concept. It was a somewhat reconciliatory gesture after the last proposal was so brutally kicked to the sidelines after a torrent of public outcry and miserable PR. This new iteration of the ESL comes as its backers claim the foundations of European football are on the verge of collapse and they hope to reshape them so they can protect the beautiful game from falling any further. So what has changed? Are these the same malicious power plays we saw before? And can they actually succeed in establishing this new competition? Here’s everything you need to know about the new ESL proposals.
What happened last time?
First, some context. The initial plans were launched in April 2021 and saw 12 European founding clubs pledge their support for a breakaway competition. The concept was to introduce a new mid-week ‘closed shop’ competition where these teams could compete with each other without fear of relegation from the tournament to see who was truly Europe’s best team. However, the main incentive for these clubs was pretty obvious from the get-go. The project had a gargantuan £4.6billion backing which would guarantee each participating club a sizable share of those funds. They had, rather naively, hoped they would be able to maintain their place in their respective domestic leagues and UEFA competitions while competing in the ESL where they could make best use of their new financial arsenal. They were met with a harsh dose of reality. Those plans were quickly silenced and ultimately put on the back burner after a quickfire and rather emphatic Premier League U-turn. Anger from supporters, pundits and politicians quickly led to all six Premier League clubs pulling out, while AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan also removed themselves from the competition. It just left Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid committed to the cause and those three in particular remain determined to restructure the European football landscape. The suspicion is that these European superpowers are concerned about the growth of the Premier League and the wealth that it generates to the point now where they’re struggling to compete financially and in continental competition with the ‘big six’. To some extent they’re right, the Premier League has been THE destination for the game’s best talent and resources for years now because of their very lucrative broadcasting deals, and that is most likely the reason for the persistence with this project.
What are the new proposals?
The initial 20-team format with a ‘closed shop’ element was a bust and the new competition sought to change that. The ESL project is now committed to ‘open competition’, the watchwords around which the remaining majority of European football chose to organise their defence of the status quo in 2021. It would comprise several divisions and involve between 60 and 80 teams with a minimum of 14 matches per club, per season. The idea of permanent members has been abandoned completely. Instead, there would be a promotion and relegation system between the divisions, with those in the competition getting there based on merit. There are no details yet on how the 60-80 teams would be organised and who would be selected although it’s fair to assume a competition of this size would feature a large cohort of clubs from multiple leagues across Europe as opposed to a select few from the biggest five or six. What has been outlined, though, is that participating clubs would still compete in their respective national competitions. There has also been a promise to improve fan engagement, with a particular focus on investment in the women’s game by forming a competition for women to compete in too. Furthermore, a substantial amount of funding would go towards improving stadiums and guaranteed solidarity payments to clubs outside the ESL.
What are the chances this will actually happen?
Slim, at best. While there has not been the same scale of uproar as last time, there is still very little clamor amongst the footballing community for this concept. Most observers recognise the financial instability that comes with competing at the highest level is unsustainable, even for the financial fatcats of Europe, but this idea is still billed by many as adding to the problem rather than a solution. The Champions League is still considered the pinnacle of European club football but A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart told German newspaper Die Welt: “The foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing. It’s time for a change. It is the clubs that bear the entrepreneurial risk in football. But when important decisions are at stake, they are too often forced to sit idly by on the sidelines as the sporting and financial foundations crumble around them.” While the Champions League still exists, you can place a wager on the winner on betting sites like these. But their attempts to ‘save’ European football seem disingenuous at best. The guaranteed solidarity payments look like appeasement and while there are no permanent members, the lack of clarity over financing within the competition means it won’t take much for people to conclude that the initial 12 participating clubs of the original ESL will most likely be placed at the top of the tree. The governing bodies of the game have reiterated their distaste for the proposals with LaLiga president Javier Tebas yet again leading the charge describing the organisation as a sly thief trying to steal influence and finances from the heart of the game. A22 aren’t going away without a fight though having challenged UEFA and FIFA’s right to block the formation of the Super League in the courts, arguing the governing bodies are abusing a dominant position under EU competition law. The European Court of Justice is due to give its final ruling in the case later this year. The inclusion of clubs from smaller markets, such as Scotland, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands, could help move the dial in A22’s favour, and it’s no surprise this announcement comes after a monstrous spend from the Premier League in the January transfer window. Even so, for the time being, it seems the ESL will have a long fight to win over the footballing world before we see it on our screens.