The European Super League: The End of Football?

 European Super League

The End of Football?

18th April 2021 may very well be a dark day in the history of football. A day where greed triumphs honor. A day when football become the Fans' game no longer. Whether the ramifications are positive or not, one thing is certain : The football world will never be the same if the European Super League becomes a part of our reality.

The announcement has left the football world in shock. A list of 12 clubs have announced that they will be forming their own "European Super League". The list of "founders" include:

1. AC Milan
2. Atletico Madrid
3. Barcelona
4. Inter Milan
5. Juventus
6. Real Madrid
7. Arsenal
8. Chelsea
9. Liverpool
10. Manchester City
11. Manchester United
12. Tottenham

There are 3 more "founders" reported to join the ESL. With big names like Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain missing from the list due to their refusal to join, we still have to wait to see the complete the list of founders.

The ESL is a JP Morgan backed initiative, which will consist of 20 teams, 15 founders and 5 clubs which will be picked based on their performance in the season. Teams will be divided into 2 pools with 10 teams each, with home and away games for a team against every other team in their pool. A straight knock-out format is followed after the group stages. The workings of the ESL will be governed by the clubs taking part in the ESL themselves.

This is a move "for the fans", is what ESL chairman and President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez would like to claim. However, the opinion of the fans tells a different story.

There is universal opposition to the idea of a European Super League from fans not just from Europe, but across the globe. Many people see it as nothing more than a cash grab, a move motivated solely by greed. Unfortunately, for Perez and Juventus Chairman Andrea Agnelli, the timing of this decision points to the fans being right.

The ESL system proves to be football's equivalent of "The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer". Big clubs who join the ESL stand to gain over  €300 million along with future "solidarity payments" as the league earns more and more revenue. Investment into the teams of the league will tally up to an estimated € 3.5 billion. Yes, Billion with a big B.

In a time when the pandemic is stretching the financial power of these clubs to the brink, at a time when clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid are in debt of the order of billions, the ESL is the best shot they have at gaining the extra revenue they need. To the big clubs, this is definitely an attractive move.

However, the loss to football as a whole, and to the fans, is the loss of parity in the football world that the ESL will lead to. 

Small clubs will no longer be able to keep up with the bigger ones. The amount of money the big clubs can earn and then spend puts them miles ahead of any sort of development smaller clubs can achieve. Teams like Leicester City will no longer have their miracle runs like the historic 2015-16 season. In this way, the ESL clearly doesn't add to the excitement around football, it takes away from it. The ESL betrays the idea of fair competition in every sense of the word.

Moreover, unlike the UCL, a club being a part of this select club of Europe's elite isn't based on their achievements on the pitch, but for the most part, their power off of it. 

The 15 founders will never be relegated as the rules state. It's strange that Tottenham and Arsenal, teams that aren't even close to being a part of the best 4 teams in the Premier League this year, will be permanent members of the ESL while Teams like Leicester City will have to go above and beyond their means to even be one of the possible teams that could fill the 5 non- guaranteed spots.

A league with lack of meaningful competition, without proper relegation and promotion systems, where you are guaranteed to stay in the ESL no matter how bad you perform as long as your club is "big enough" is a league that violates the principles of fair competition and the spirit of football. No matter how much the owners try to sugarcoat their intentions, this remains 100% true. 

The idea of teams being a part of big money leagues and high level competition based on their history and the size of their following rather than by merit is a tough pill to swallow for many fans. Many believe it to be a disgraceful idea, and it's not just common people like me. Even big members of the media like Gary Neville, Micah Richards and Roy Keane call this a betrayal from the owners to the fans and the spirit of football.

In a difficult time where so many grassroots leagues, teams and organisations are suffering with lack of money, where so many clubs are going bankrupt, going into administration, the idea of these big clubs taking their revenue from a system where whatever money that does trickle down to lower divisions to a giant pot where they only need to share it among themselves screams of a lack of loyalty to the football systems set up through the domestic leagues. 

This is a time when fans would like to see clubs act with integrity, a time when we would like to see clubs use their power to keep the spirit of football alive. However, the owners have failed us.

Football is the biggest sport on the planet because it's the game of the people. It's universal.  It can be seen from wet, muddy grounds in England to the narrow streets of Brazil to the grounds of Cameroon to the fields of India and more. Football was a game for everybody. That's what made it special. 

The creation of the ESL, however, means football, at the professional level at least, will no longer be a game for everybody, but only for the rich. Let that sink in.

The fans are right when they say "Created by the poor, stolen by the rich".

However, all hope is not lost. UEFA and FIFA are aggressively combating the formation of the ESL. According to statements from UEFA and FIFA, players who participate in the ESL can be barred from playing for their national teams in Euros and FIFA World Cups, a big move to deter the players from taking part in this initiative. The players will also be banned from participating in the other domestic leagues that are under the control of UEFA. The domestic leagues themselves are also strongly against the formation of the ESL.

The fans of the beautiful game are also playing their part. #SuperLeague is trending with scathing criticism, memes and jokes aimed at the owners for their "greed". It seems strange that a move this universally frowned upon can even happen, but here we are.

It is now more important than ever for the voices of the football community to be heard. Oftentimes, we could never reach the owners. Right now, there is a special opportunity with strong unity among football fans to demonstrate their displeasure.

To the owners and presidents, money talks louder than their conscience. Not to us.

The Premier League was formed by a breakaway of big clubs as well, however, important steps were taken to incorporate it into the English league pyramid and ensure fair competition. That is just not possible with the ESL. The ESL, stands to benefit no one and nothing except the bottom line of these "big" clubs.

A league with no sense of merit, a league that values quantity of followers over quality of football, a league that doesn't have any sort of necessity other than to make Scrooge McDuck level money for the big clubs while leaving the small clubs to face the consequences is in no way, shape or form "for the fans", no matter how many times Perez says it to the media.

This isn't reform, it's greed. They aren't opening the doors for new revenue streams, they are hurrying in and slamming the door shut before anyone else could benefit from those revenue streams, before anyone else could enter and maybe, just maybe, rise up to a level high enough to compete with them.

The ESL doesn't promote high level competition. It destroys high level competition.

Money talks, ladies and gentlemen. However, it is absolutely vital that fans of football talk louder. This is the only way the people who are pushing for the ESL will hear us.

Whether the ESL idea becomes reality or not, the upcoming days are significant. Now is an opportunity for fans to take control, or lose control and let the rich owners have their way yet again. 

The harm from ESL is of a larger magnitude than any issue that the worldwide football community faces today. Whether from a moral or practical standpoint, the ESL only leads to widespread harm for everyone who's not part of the elite that the elite themselves choose.

The European Super League isn't so "European" when only 3-5 nations of the 55 nations in UEFA could actually participate regularly and it isn't so "super" when teams like Arsenal that can't even beat Fulham are being picked as guaranteed members. The entire concept is confusing, unnecessary and dangerous.

It is vital that you, the reader, take the necessary measures to save football. Tweet out against the super league, use your social media presence, join the fight. Sign petitions, write letters, do whatever you can to stop this, because the integrity and spirit of football needs it. Football needs you. Save it.

Whether the owners are successful or not, whether the fans stop this mess or not, one thing is certain : Today, and the next few days will be etched in football history forever. Whether it's a bright spot or a dark one, depends on us, the people to whom the game of football actually belongs to, the fans.

Take Action.

Until next time,

Karthik Sabareesh, The 12-6.

Sources:

https://thesuperleague.com/

https://www.by433.com/en

https://www.goal.com/en-in

Official statements from UEFA