Will there be a new Superleague? As many as 80 teams should participate! What are the concrete plans for the shape of such a league?

Will there be a new European football competition after all? A22 has come up with a new concept that would see 80 teams competing in a potential European Super League! It would be an open league, teams would have to qualify. So what do the plans for the new Super League look like?

The well-known sports site Sky Sports has come up with information in the last few dozen minutes regarding the relaunch of the European Super League. Bernd Reichart announced the specific plans, and the competition would have a proposed 80 teams.

The new European Super League would be based solely on sporting results and would not have permanent members, A22 boss Bernd Reichart told German newspaper Die Welt. It was A22 that was set up to sponsor and help create the Super League.

A22 has consulted nearly 50 European clubs on the possible shape of the Super League. On the basis of these communications, they have developed ten principles that form the basis of their plans for the new form of the competition.

Teams would be guaranteed to play a minimum of 14 games per season. In addition, the newly formed Superliga would be divided into several divisions.

European football is in danger of collapsing! Time for a change?

“The foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing. It’s time for a change. It is the clubs that bear the business risk in football. But when it comes to important decisions, they are too often forced to stand by and watch the sporting and financial foundations crumble around them,” said Reichart, quoted by Sky Sports

“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 that needs to be done and we will continue our dialogue,” he added.

According to EU law…

Indeed, A22 has already recently challenged in court the right of FIFA and UEFA to block the formation of the Super League and punish clubs with sanctions. The football governing bodies are said to be abusing their dominant competition position under EU law.

However, the Advocate General speaks differently, saying that UEFA and FIFA have the right under EU law to block the formation of the Super League. The European Court of Justice is not due to issue a final ruling on the case until later this year.

In any case, Reichart also said that the Superliga would be an open competition that teams would qualify for through their results and performances in their domestic leagues.

However, Reichart also unveiled other plans that involved financial control over player transfers. Under these, clubs would only spend a fixed percentage of their annual football-related income on player salaries and transfers.

The original plans failed

The creation of a European Super League was mooted back in 2021, with 12 teams to be founding members at the time. But gradually, clubs started to opt out of this potential competition. So which ones were they?

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

But after it became clear that these teams could not even play in the Champions League, all but Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid abandoned the plan.

“There has been an important rethink and the concept is spreading about openness and taking permanent membership off the table. I can say that the three clubs have credibly reconsidered and taken some lessons from the first approach,” explains Reichart.

“I am aware of what the English clubs said a year and a half ago, but I hope that the whole football community appreciates the approach to continue to care and try to come up with a solution,” he concluded.

Sky Sports, European Super League