The first attempt for a Super League was quickly slowed down. In April 2021, six clubs from England and three each from Italy and Spain announced that they would form a practically closed league. The project failed 48 hours later – the resistance from UEFA, fans, national leagues and politicians was too great.
Only Juventus Turin, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have stuck to the idea and are pushing the idea further. They founded the marketing agency A22 Sports for this purpose. Bernd Reichart, former boss of the RTL media group, now leads this company as managing director.
In the sports talk, he disagrees with UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, who declared the Super League dead. “I believe that we have been able to make it clear in the last few weeks which aspects of the project have fundamentally changed and why European football should actually start with a dialogue,” said Reichart, “with fundamentally changed ones assumptions.”
ECJ will make groundbreaking decision
The European Court of Justice is currently dealing with the Super League in a so-called preliminary ruling procedure. The core issue is whether UEFA is using its monopoly in an abusive and anti-competitive manner.
“If the status quo is not considered legal,” said Reichart, “then football should also go into the hands of the clubs at European level, just like in the Bundesliga.”
Clubs are currently mainly represented in the lobby organization ECA. However, the ECA has a considerable say in the decision-making bodies of UEFA – especially in the design of the competitions, their marketing and the distribution of money.
Reichart is now asking the clubs to prepare for a legal decision against UEFA. “Then the clubs should agree: What’s next? What alternative can we create?”
One question is: “Is there a consensus about the problems? And do we want to work together on solutions?” However, the clubs would be “handcuffed” in the dialogue because the UEFA statutes exclude any discussion.
Reichart addresses problems in the current system
The Super League’s new marketer addressed issues in the current system under UEFA’s umbrella, such as the lack of economic sustainability.
“It is important to understand that at the moment the European football system is no longer self-sustaining. Revenues and costs are not in a healthy relationship,” says Reichart, considering that many top clubs are making losses.
Responsible for this is, among other things, that UEFA has insufficiently implemented financial fair play. Reichart named the permanent champions in the national leagues, the supremacy of the Premier League and declining interest among young people as further problems. “These are issues that I would like to talk about,” said Reichart, without naming any concrete solutions to the issues.
He described the new format of the Champions League, in which 36 clubs play in a league and can ultimately reach the knockout stage through their placement, as inflated and too incomprehensible.
What role national leagues could play
Reichart said it’s not just about the Super League, it’s about all European club competitions. UEFA currently hosts the men’s Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. “We are talking about an open system linked to the national leagues that ensures promotion and relegation.”
However, Reichart did not say exactly how he imagines the ascent and descent.
I am firmly convinced that a great sporting performance by a club in a national league must enable it to go its own way in Europe.
But Reichart also spoke of “plannability” and the consideration of how one can “create formats within a sporting competition where one can grow better than with the current system”.
For the Bundesliga and other national leagues, a system that only includes promotion and relegation would be a devaluation. Currently, the placements in the leagues are the only way into the European Cup, the only exceptions are the defending champions of the three competitions.
If there is an international system with promotion and relegation, it could also mean that some teams could “stay up” in a Super League without having to rely on the national league.
The DFL, German clubs and fans express their negative opinion
German clubs could also play a role for Reichart. But how will he convince her? “First by explaining what has changed in our approach.” Those responsible at the DFL, but also at Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, have expressed their opposition to the new initiative.
He also wants to involve fans, said Reichart. There should also be a “structured, organized and professional dialogue” via an online platform. In 2021, fans had contributed significantly to the failure of the first attempt at a Super League with widespread rejection.
Football Supporters Europe wrote of the renewed push: “This is nothing new. It’s the same intentions by the same people who are jeopardizing the European sporting model for the benefit of a handful of clubs. They’ve been turned down before but to be clear : The fans don’t want a European Super League.”