Recently, the world of football was made into an uproar with news about the European Super League performance
This idea invited polemic and has been opposed by many circles. Even so, the plan will continue. However, it is not certain when this competition will be held. The participants have not reached the available quota.
The following is information about the European Super League, which is quoted from various sources. Complete information can be listened to below.
Table of contents
What is the European Super League
The club that is the participant
European Super League format
The Officials of the European Super League
Football public response
The start of the European Super League order
Closing
1. What is the European Super League?
The European Super League is an idea that has been around for a long time. The competition is planned to be followed by a number of top European clubs and on Monday (19/4/2021) early this morning, 12 teams announced their participation in the event.
It all started in 2009 when Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, publicly criticized the holding of the Champions League. "We have agreed on a new European Super League which guarantees that the best will always fight the best - that doesn't happen in the Champions League," Perez told the Telegraph.
At first, Perez's words were not taken seriously by various groups. The original conversation went under the radar until in 2018, Football Leaks leaked news about a chat related to the Super League.
In 2020, Josep Maria Bartomeu made a shocking statement with his resignation as president of Barcelona. He revealed that the club accepted a proposal to join the European Super League.
Then recently, the New York Times reported that there were 12 clubs from England, Italy and Spain that agreed to hold the European Super League. The report was later responded to by UEFA and FIFA which was accompanied by criticism.
The two parent football organizations stated that all parties involved in the European Super League would receive harsh penalties. Clubs are not allowed to participate in domestic competitions, while their players are prohibited from joining the national teams of their respective countries to take part in international events.
The threat did not have any effect. The 12 founding clubs of the European Super League have instead released a statement about their involvement publicly a few hours after UEFA and FIFA launched their firm stance.
2. European clubs that are participants
As explained above, 12 clubs have declared their participation in the European Super League stage. Among them:
Juventus
Inter Milan
AC Milan
Barcelona
Real Madrid
Manchester United
Manchester City
Chelsea
Arsenal
Liverpool
Tottenham
The list above is only a small part of the giant clubs scattered from various parts of Europe. It is known that the founders of the European Super League intend to add three more clubs to their 'family'.
Several reports have revealed that Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich have rejected offers to join the competition. However, according to Fabrizio Romano's report, they will only make a decision in the next few days. Likewise with RB Leipzig and Portuguese giants, Porto.
This season's Champions League semi-finalists, PSG, will certainly not participate in the European Super League. This is because the owner, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, was part of the UEFA executive committee in 2019.
3. Format European Super League
The European Super League is planned to have 20 teams, 15 of which are permanent members. While the remaining five are teams that qualify through domestic competitions. The 20 teams will later be divided into two groups consisting of 10 teams.
The home-away format will also be used in the competition as well as in leagues in various countries. The top three teams from each group may participate in the quarter-finals, and the two slots remaining by the two-legged play-off winners between the fourth and fifth place occupants of each group.
The knockout round itself will later be held in a two-leg format except for the final, which will be held in one match at a neutral venue.
4. Officials of the European Super League
It is not yet known in detail who the positions in the European Super League event are. So far, what is known is only:
Florentino Perez (Real Madrid) as president
Stan Kroenke (Arsenal) as vice president
Andrea Agnelli (Juventus) as vice president
John W. Henry (Liverpool) as vice president
Joel Glazer (Manchester United) as vice president
5. Domestic Competition Organizer Response
The European Super League, at first, was only a match for the Champions League. This competition actually has nothing to do with domestic competitions and was held in the middle of the week. However, this competition also received resistance from the domestic football stage. England's highest football event, the Premier League, has shown its attitude recently.
"The Premier League condemns any proposal that attacks the principles of open competition and sporting achievement that are at the core of the pyramid of domestic and European football," read a Premier League statement.
"Fans from any club in England and across Europe today can dream that their team can rise to the top and play against the best. We believe that the European Super League concept will destroy this dream."
The English football federation, the FA, has also expressed a position. "The FA is aware that certain English clubs are planning to form a closed European Super League with other European clubs."
"It is clear that it will damage English and European football at all levels and will attack the principles of open competition and sporting achievement, which are essential for competitive sport."
"For competitions formed involving clubs from different associations, approval will be required from the relevant National Associations, considerations and / or FIFA. We will not provide a license to any competition which would undermine English football, and will take legal and / or regulatory action. necessary to protect the broader interests of the game. "
Serie A itself is known to have held a meeting to discuss the presence of the European Super League, since three Italian giants also took part in the competition. However, until now, they have not made any statements.
6. Reactions from Various Circles
Apart from the 12 teams involved, and three others who might join in the future, the European Super League event did not get a positive response from the public. Sentiment even came from the former Manchester United coach, Sir Alex Ferguson.
"European Super League talks are a step away from 70 years of European club football," Ferguson told Reuters.
"Everton spent 500 million pounds to build a new stadium with the ambition to play in the Champions League. All fans like that kind of competition," he continued.
Manchester United legend Roy Keane also condemned the idea of this competition. "It depends on money, greed," said Keane.
"Obviously, we haven't heard anything from FIFA but it doesn't sound good, I hope they stop it because it's just real greed," said the former Manchester United captain.
Meanwhile, the voices expressing support for the European Super League tend to be few. AC Milan legend, Clarence Seedorf, once expressed his support for the event in 2012.
"Evolution will definitely take place. I believe in a European League. I want to see greater quality in the game and fewer games, meaning the quality will be greater," he said.
"This is something that has been discussed many times, but in the future it will be like that," he concluded.
7. The start of the European Super League
European football was made noisy by the declaration of the 12 top blue continent clubs who wanted to host a new competition called the European Super League (ESL).
The 12 elite European clubs that have agreed to form the European Super League are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus.
"Twelve major European clubs have jointly concluded an agreement to host a midweek competition, the Super League, which is organized by the founding clubs," read a statement from the European Super League.
However, the desire of 12 clubs to create a competition which was later called the European media as a breakaway league, aka the rival league, was opposed by UEFA.
UEFA as the European football body also takes a firm stand in the form of prohibiting participation in the domestic league and competitions made by UEFA against the originating club of the European Super League.
"Players who play in teams in closed leagues will be banned from participating in the World Cup and the Euro. We encourage everyone to stand tall with us as we do everything in our power to ensure this (European Super League) will never come to fruition," said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, quoted by Goal International.
Now, pros and cons have emerged regarding the European Super League. So how did the splinter competition actually begin?
The President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, became the most outspoken figure in voicing ideas about the European Super League.
Perez, who also serves as chairman of the European Super League, has been echoing the idea of a new competition since 2009.
At that time, Perez criticized the holding of the Champions League which he said was very detrimental to the economy because the big teams could not meet often.
According to FourFourTwo, the idea of a European Super League has evolved over the past two years. In March 2019, there was a meeting spearheaded by European elite clubs to discuss Champions League reform.
Then in October last year, came up with plans for a European Premier League financed by JP Morgan, with up to 18 teams participating and starting in 2022.
A few days later, Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu (who has resigned), made a sensational statement claiming that the club "accepted a proposal to participate in the European Super League in the future".
January 2021, the European Super League concept appears again with an additional three clubs to join, bringing the number of founding clubs to 15.
Each club founding the European Super League will receive a fee of 310 million pounds and potentially earn up to 213 million pounds the following season.
Meanwhile, the European Super League is planned to start in 2022-2023.
Three months after that, as is well known, 12 top European clubs have declared the European Super League.
In an interview with El Chiringuito, Florentino Perez said that the club needed a solution to the bad financial conditions caused by the pandemic.
"Many important clubs in Spain, Italy and England want to find a solution to their dire financial situation. The only way is to play more competitive matches. Instead of playing in the Champions League, the Super League helps clubs to recover lost income. , "said Perez.
Perez added, the European Super League camp will communicate with UEFA and FIFA.
"If we can start the Super League in August, we will. We will do our best to start this year. We want to reach an agreement with UEFA and other parties. We will talk with UEFA, not just FIFA."
But on the other hand, said Perez, the European Super League will not cancel its intention to form a new competition if it does not reach an agreement with UEFA.
"If we can't find an agreement with UEFA, we will not back down. If they want to wait until 2024 to reform, they can wait. We are not waiting for anyone because we need the Super League," said Florentino Perez.
Regarding the new format of the Champions League, UEFA has announced that the competition between Europe's elite clubs will change its format from the 2024-2025 season.
A number of changes in the new format of the Champions League include the number of participants and matches, the competition system, to the fees or money received by participants.
Meanwhile, fans from the founding clubs of the European Super League also voted for the new competition, one of which was Manchester United supporters.
Man United supporters reject their club's participation in the European Super League.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) in its official statement called the Super League a closed shop of wealthy clubs that contradicts the values of football.
"This proposal (European Super League) is completely unacceptable and will surprise Manchester United fans as well as many other clubs," said the MUST statement, quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
The group of supporters which has more than 200,000 members also said that Man United's participation in the European Super League was a form of betrayal of the club's history.
"When Sir Matt Busby took us to the European Cup in the 1950s, modern Manchester United was founded in tragedy and then glory followed. To think of moving away from that competition (the Champions League) would be the betrayal of everything this club has ever fought for."
"We urge everyone involved in this proposal (European Super League) including Manchester United to withdraw immediately," they insisted.
Thank you for reading, have a nice day ☺️