Earthquake in European soccer after EU Court ruling: new 64-club Super League project ready

Brussels – Pandora’s box has been opened. Only hours after the EU Court of Justice ruled that UEFA and FIFA cannot ban new football competitions, a new 64-team European Super League project has already been presented, with the promise—to billions of fans—that all matches will be available on a dedicated, free streaming platform.

A22 Sports Management, a Madrid-based company created ad hoc for the launch of the Superleague, went back on the attack right away: after cheering the “end of the 69-year Uefa monopoly in European club soccer”, it announced a new proposal for both men’s and women’s competitions. “We have legally obtained the right to compete. European soccer is free,” said A22 CEO Bernd Reichart, who sees the goal approaching: “For the first time since 1955, pan-European soccer competitions will be able to be governed by the participating clubs themselves, as is the case in virtually all European national leagues.”

The new Super League envisions a 64-team league divided into three categories for men’s soccer, and 32 teams in two divisions for women’s soccer. Participation “based on sporting merit,” without the permanent members that had inflamed public debate in the previous proposal, with annual promotion and relegation between leagues and entry into the lowest division based on performance in the national championship.

“There will be no increase in the number of match calendar days compared to those provided by the
current competitions and midweek games will not interfere with the schedules of the national championships,” the A22 draft reads. And “effective financial sustainability rules and transparent application processes” will be introduced to ensure a level playing field among participating clubs. In the new Super League, participating clubs will receive solidarity payments equal to 8 percent of league revenues, with a minimum amount of 400 million euros, “more than double the amount distributed by the current pan-European competition,” the Champions League.

But Bernd Reichart’s company raises the bar again, declaring that it is working to create “the world’s leading direct-to-fan sports streaming platform, Unify, where billions of fans will have the opportunity to watch Super League matches for free.” A kick to criticism of the project’s exclusivity: Reichart claims “the democratic access to live soccer” that Unify will provide. Somehow, this platform will have to stand on its own feet: with advertising revenue, distribution partnerships, interactive services, and sponsors. And premium subscriptions, of course.