Football is the most followed sport in the world, with an estimated number of four billion fans. Almost every country has its own local league and a national team competing in regional tournaments, as well as the World Cup organized every four years by football’s highest governing body, FIFA. But this may change in the near future: 12 of the world’s strongest football clubs now want to start their own tournament.
The European Super League (ESL) is an ambitious plan put forth by 12 of the best-known and most-followed football clubs in Europe, with most of them familiar for every football fan with a knack for live soccer betting: English Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham, along with Italian clubs Inter Milan, Juventus Turin, and AC Milan and Spanish clubs Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Barcelona. The founding clubs would later be joined by eight more, for a total of 20 teams playing in the tournament, offering clubs more opportunities to play – and bettors more opportunities to place successful bets at Betway.
Of course, the teams would continue to play in national leagues. Each year, other clubs would qualify for the tournament – the 12 founding clubs, of course, would be permanently there, never facing relegation. This new league would represent competition for the UEFA Champions League, currently the biggest club tournament in the world.
Why would Europe need another club tournament? Well, the reasons why these clubs need this tournament for economic reasons. “The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model”, the founding clubs’ statement reads. “Further, for a number of years, the Founding Clubs have had the objective of improving the quality and intensity of existing European competitions throughout each season, and of creating a format for top clubs and players to compete on a regular basis.” The founders say that this new tournament would be beneficial for the entire “European football pyramid” by enhancing the value and the support for football in Europe as a whole.
The plan, of course, has opponents, too, voices that say this move is not about the benefit of the sport but the bottom lines of the clubs involved. The finances of even the biggest football clubs across the world were hit hard by the global pandemic, and some say their intention is nothing but to boost their revenues – according to some estimates, the founding clubs would earn three or four times as much from the new Super League as they do in their current competitions.
The news about the European Super League comes amid discussions about reforms in the UEFA Champions League meant to offer clubs the opportunity to play more matches. The UEFA’s plans include the expansion of the tournament to 36 teams and the total number of matches played by the teams from 125 to 225. It remains to be seen if the clubs will proceed with their plans or remain in the UEFA tournament – we’ll have to wait for UEFA to make its official announcement to find out about their reaction to it.