‘The best clubs. The best players. Every week’ was the motto of the proposed Super League in 2021. We speak of it in the past tense because it did not materialise the way the founders had anticipated, but as it stands, there are talks of a revival of the Super League campaign once more.
The Premier League’s position as the preeminent league for audiences, players, and coaches is part of the problem for teams from other European leagues. The infrastructure around the league makes it such an exciting league, let alone what happens on the field. For instance, there are over 150 football odds on Premier League. The broadcasts are packed full of fascinating stories and insights. The clubs themselves know how to engage their fans and inspire devotion. The European clubs want part of this, and the Premier League teams want the security of not having to fail to be in the Champions League.
What is the Super League?
The Premier League’s big six proposed the idea of the Super League: Manchester City and United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. Other significant European teams, such as Barcelona, Juventus, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, joined them. These were all the founding clubs of the Super League and the biggest clubs in sports betting globally. The expectation was that more teams from other European leagues would join in.
The league would have had 20 teams split into two groups. The top three teams in each group would then qualify for the quarter-finals.
The Benefits of the Super League
We are well aware of the super league’s backlash from UEFA, FIFA and even the UK government, players were threatened with being banned from participating in the world cup, and various other punitive measures would be taken against all teams involved. But that doesn’t mean the concept of a European Super League was without merit.
- The format of the ESL would’ve secured long-term revenue streams for the teams involved, even if they weren’t winning.
- With the UEFA format, a team not in the knockout stages doesn’t get broadcasting rights and loses a lot of revenue.
- In their event where there are no matches played due to global interference, teams don’t make any money, and yet they still have to pay for salaries and other running costs.
- Another advantage touted by the funding clubs was that the ESL would compromise clubs from all over Europe without being dominated by only English clubs (this may be debatable), thus levelling the revenue-generating field.
With all that being said, fans were highly opposed, and matters even went to court; six of the founding clubs abandoned the bid for different reasons. The Juventus board is under investigation and has since resigned due to financial irregularities. So, in short, ESL fell apart but did not die. A22 Sports Management recently announced that it has picked up the idea, rebranded it and is in the process of breathing life into it once more. Berns Reichart, who once worked at the German media company RTL Deutschland, is tasked with this mammoth task. Only time will tell if he successfully wins over the fans and the current leagues.
What we think
The concept of a Super League is neither new nor unique; there has been a proposal for an African Super League intended to bring out the best of African football. While simultaneously generating much-needed revenue that will be ploughed back into developmental football on the continent. The difference between the European and African super leagues is the stamp of approval from CAF and FIFA. The African Super League is expected to kick off on the 23rd of August. With that said, there is a place for ESL in European football with certain conditions. The ESL could provide a new perspective for European football.