Twelve of the biggest soccer clubs in the world decided to team up and give FIFA and UEFA a massive blow. They created the European Super League, a completely independent tournament.
Plenty of people around the world have complained about this initiative, claiming that it will do nothing to help the smaller and more humble clubs, as the rich will only get richer with this massive television deal.
The teams published a joint statement claiming that they would go on with that initiative regardless of UEFA’s threats to ban the clubs and players, raising even more controversies on social media.
12 Teams Unite To Form The European Super League
(Transcript via Real Madrid)
“Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.
AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as Founding Clubs. It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable.
Going forward, the Founding Clubs look forward to holding discussions with UEFA and FIFA to work together in partnership to deliver the best outcomes for the new League and for football as a whole.
The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model. Further, for a number of years, the Founding Clubs have had the objective of improving the quality and intensity of existing European competitions throughout each season, and of creating a format for top clubs and players to compete on a regular basis.
The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid. In recent months extensive dialogue has taken place with football stakeholders regarding the future format of European competitions. The Founding Clubs believe the solutions proposed following these talks do not solve fundamental issues, including the need to provide higher-quality matches and additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid.”
What Teams Are In The European Super League?
As of now, just 12 teams have joined the initiative, claiming that there will be up to 3 more founding members. The rest (5) will qualify on a yearly basis depending on their merits from the season:
+ England:
Arsenal FC
Chelsea FC
Liverpool FC
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City
Manchester United
+ Spain:
Real Madrid
FC Barcelona
Atlético de Madrid
+ Italy:
FC Internazionale Milano Juventus FC AC Milan