The European Super League set out its updated proposals for a Champions League replacement on Thursday, after a European court found that UEFA’s rules restricting the creation of new competitions were “unlawful.”
A presentation by A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart outlined plans for a three-league, 64 club men’s competition, and a two-league, 32 club women’s competition, to replace the UEFA Champions League and Women’s Champions League.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
The Super League’s backers A22 Sports wasted no time in setting out their vision for a new Europe-wide club football competition on Thursday, just hours after the court’s verdict was released.
“We’ll keep working with clubs, leagues and other parties, without the fear of punishment, to create the best European football competitions,” Reichart said. “We reaffirm our commitment to national leagues and the pyramid structure of football. For the first time since 1955, European competitions could be managed by the participating clubs themselves.”
In a long-awaited decision, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg held that UEFA “has been abusing a dominant position” in its prohibition of the Super League, finding that its rules on prior approval were not “transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate.”
However, the court also said that its decision “does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved.” UEFA argued that since the Super League’s attempted launch in 2021, it had already updated its rules to comply with EU law.
A22 proposed the launch of a new sports streaming platform to broadcast the Super League, saying that all matches would be available free of charge to fans, with income generated by advertising, premium subscriptions and sponsorship.
The men’s Super League would consist of two leagues — the “Star League” and “Gold League” — consisting of 16 clubs each, and a third ‘Blue League’ made up of 32 clubs, A22 said.
There would be promotion and relegation between the leagues, with access to the Blue League based on domestic league performance.
Clubs would play in groups of eight, home and away, with a minimum of 14 matches per year, played midweek. At the end of each season, a knockout stage of eight clubs would decide the champions of each league.
In the women’s Super League, there would be two leagues, the “Star” and “Gold” leagues, with 16 clubs in each, playing in groups of eight, in a similar format.
A22 said income would be guaranteed for the first three years, and ‘solidarity payments’ would represent 8% of the Super League’s income, with a minimum payment of €400 million ($439m).
The proposal was the result of “extensive dialogue” with fans, players, clubs and leagues over the last two years, the group said.