Fresh plans for European Super League announced

Bernd Reichart, CEO of A22, has announced plans for a new-look, open European Super League with up to 80 teams.

Reichart told Die Welt that the competition would be based solely on athletic ability, with no permanent members.

Teams would be guaranteed at least 14 games per season.

Since October of last year, A22, a company formed to sponsor and assist with the creation of the Super League, has consulted with nearly 50 European clubs and developed ten principles based on that consultation that underpin its plans for a new-look league.

Reichart wrote: “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.

“Our talks have also made it clear that clubs often find it impossible to speak out publicly against a system that uses the threat of sanctions to thwart opposition.

“Our dialogue was open, honest, constructive and resulted in clear ideas about what changes are needed and how they could be implemented. There is a lot to do and we will continue our dialogue.”

UEFA and FIFA challenged

A22 has challenged UEFA and FIFA’s right to block the formation of the Super League and sanction the competing clubs 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, but a non-binding opinion delivered by the Advocate General in the case in December said rules allowing UEFA and FIFA to block the formation of new competitions was compatible with EU law.

Reichart said the new-look Super League would be an open competition, with qualification achieved via performance at national level and with all its teams competing in their domestic leagues.

Those national leagues would remain “the foundation” of the game, Reichart said, and argued that the new Super League would generate new revenues to support the entire pyramid.

The guarantee of a minimum of 14 matches, Reichart says, would provide “stablility and predictability” of revenue.

Reichart set out plans for cost control measures, saying clubs should spend only a fixed percentage of their annual football-related revenue on player salaries and net transfers.