Leagues with similar demands as the fans
The merger of the European leagues, European Leagues, had recently turned against several details of the reform. The German Football League is also part of this organization. The two biggest points of contention between some top clubs and fans and leagues who also criticize FSE:
- Access to the Champions League: 36 instead of 32 teams should play. Of the four additional clubs, according to the reform plan, two should be able to qualify on the basis of historical results over the past five years – if they didn’t make it through their domestic league. FSE call this “fundamentally unfair” and against the principles of sporting competition.
- Size of the competition: 100 additional games were determined at the decision in April 2021. In the preliminary round there should be ten instead of six matchdays, and another knockout round should be added. The leagues are demanding a limit of eight match days.
In addition, there is a demand for a more even distribution of money so that the gap between large and medium-sized clubs does not continue to widen. The FSE declaration is also signed by several German fan associations such as Our Curve and the Alliance of Active Football Fans, as well as the organized fan scenes from Dortmund, Munich and Leverkusen.
The FSE wants to better protect football with a European citizens’ initiative. “Sport is a social good that belongs to everyone – not just the rich and an elite,” was the reasoning. The campaign called “Win it on the pitch” (“Sport should remain sport” is also a reaction to the debate about a Super League in professional football.