The speculations of the European Super League have resurfaced with the new proposal said to suggest a 60 to 80-team participation in a multi-divisional format. The organizers are the same ones that were behind the 2021 attempt to set up the league with permanent members. The idea was received with backlash from fans of the teams to be involved including those of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus, Real Madrid, and Barcelona. The organizers are refusing to give up on the idea only that this time around they have come back with a more inclusive proposal than the earlier one. They now believe that the revamped concept could attract greater support.

The latest idea will not be based on permanent membership but rather will focus more on sporting performance and will help to generate revenue for those involved as they compete in at least 14 games per season against fellow members of the continental elite. The A22 Sports Management Group are the company behind the latest plans and this is what their chief executive officer had to say: “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, and 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.”

While there are groups that are in support of the new proposal, La Liga are among the first to have openly spoken out against it. in a social media post that features European football portrayed as Little Red Riding Hood and a wolf wearing a Super League badge, La Liga president Javier Tebas has said: “The Super League is the wolf, who today disguises himself as a granny to try to fool European football, but HIS nose and HIS teeth are very big, four divisions in Europe? Of course the first for them, as in the 2019 reform. Government of the clubs? Of course only the big ones.”  

European football governing body UEFA has already dismissed any suggestions that A22 Sports Management Group could be helpful in introducing another tire of competition and one which directly rivals the UEFA Champions League. The governing body back in November 2022 said that “the whole of European football opposes their greedy plan.” 

(Image: Sky Sports)