In April 2021 many of the top teams across Europe introduced plans of a new break away Super League to the world, and they were met with fierce resistance from UEFA and the fans. There were mass protests from the fans and legal action was threatened by UEFA. Which meant that in a matter of days the Super League collapsed with all but three teams officially withdrawing from the proposal; only Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus remained.
There was a mess created by the whole ordeal that involved UEFA trying to ban the teams from the Champions League with that overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that banning them was illegal and a whole lot of pointing figures about who just wants money and who wants to protect the beautiful game. In the end it turned into nothing except Florentino Perez giving some mad speeches. But now the project has come back with a new proposed format including 60-80 teams and multiple leagues with a promotion and relegation system.
The Proposed Format
The proposed format of the new European Super League is far different from that of its predecessor. In 2021 the idea was that the best teams in the world would play in a very exclusive top league with no promotion or relegation. In the new proposal the field has been massively expanded to include between 60 and 80 teams in multiple divisions. It is also now a merit based system like the Champions league where you have to earn your place, rather than the original guaranteed slots for the biggest teams. The new league would also guarantee the teams 14 games per season. Not much else is known about the proposed league, such as how it interferes with current competitions and how "merit" is decided.
The People's Reaction
Probably the most memorable part of the original proposal was how vehement the resistance was with the team's supporters taking to the streets in protest and getting their teams to pull out within a few days. This was mainly due to the effects on the current competitions which are much beloved by fans and the reasons for the clubs switching, more money and sponsorships without any relegation risk.
The new proposal, however, has not gotten nearly the same level of backlash with the plans seeming to be more inclusive and less of a scheme to make the richest clubs richer. Erik ten Hag for example has said that he is not opposed to the idea of a new Super League, but also said that he hadn't seen the details and full proposal yet.
The League still has major opponents, though, as LaLiga chief Javier Tebas ridiculed the plan calling it a wolf out to trick European soccer. In a twitter post he wrote,"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."
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