European Super League officials have been working on ways to tweak its setup for months with a new proposal. News emerged in October that the league, with the help of A22 Sports Management chief executive Bernd Reichart, had plans to attempt a relaunch by 2024. Now Reichart revealed a new scheme on Thursday that could involve 60-80 clubs.
The ESL official reportedly contacted and spoke to around 50 clubs across the continent for information on the possible reform. “The vast majority of [the clubs] We share the assessment that the very foundation of European football is under threat and that it is time for change,” Reichart said in a statement.
Reichart affirms that the clubs want a change
“Comments suggest an open European football league, based solely on sporting merit, multi-divisional with 60-80 clubs and a minimum of 14 guaranteed European matches per club.”
These proposed changes would see 20 clubs form three or four separate leagues across Europe. The original plans for the ESL included a 20-team league with approximately 15 of these clubs as permanent members. This proposal was emphatically rejected by the masses in the spring of 2021. However, Reichart continues to suggest that there has to be a change in European football.
“Our goal is to present a sustainable sports blueprint for European club competitions available, at a minimum, to all 27 EU Member States as soon as possible after receiving the ruling,” Reichart continued.
“The issues are clear and action must be taken for the benefit of the fans, the players and the clubs.”
Spanish LaLiga denounces new proposal for a European Super League
La Liga president Javier Tebas was unsurprisingly unmoved by Reichart’s comments. “The Super League is the wolf, who today disguises himself as a granny to try to deceive European football, but he has a very big nose and teeth,” Tebas wrote on Twitter.
The league president also said that the new ESL plans only benefit the biggest clubs. “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.
FIFA/UEFA have recently been in a legal battle with the organizers of ESL. However, the European court ruled that the two governing bodies of the sport cannot sanction ESL members. The decision was a significant victory for A22 and ESL. However, fans are still overwhelmingly against any breakaway league formation.
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