Green light for the Super League?

[Wizard]

I think it’s far too early to say how good this will be for the “smaller” teams, especially those that qualify for Europe regularly. There is no funding in place yet as far as we have seen and as a result no model for prize distribution. They have to make it a lot more attractive for the constant CL competitors for them to bother with the hassle. So then it’s a case of how much money is it actually going to bring in for teams in the Blue League?

Also there is no explanation of how qualification will work. How likely is it that these smaller teams are still going to have a chance of some European football? Or will it end up after a couple of seasons with 10 teams from the top 4 leagues and then a few breadcrumbs for everyone else?

For example will they cap the number of teams from each country as they are now? Or will that just be the case at the beginning and they slowly all get spat out?

As of next season, 100 teams will qualify for a European competition. That is a big drop off to 64 when only 20 of those are available each new season.

 

[Tin-Tin]

Think there is only Real and Barca left in it at this point.

 

[Drico]

All driven by greed and money. Basically clubs who are protected by the farce of P&S/FFP which ring fences their dominance by cutting the rope for clubs to break their dominance has hit a glass ceiling hence all this nonsense.

All these public statements from the sky six is smoke and mirrors, behind the scenes they have their dirty mitts all over this and are clearly exploring how they can get past the optics to sign up.

Quicker they all go and get banished to non-league football the better but in reality the prem wouldn’t ever do that as they are just as self obsessed and full of greed.

People have been saying that football has gone for years. If this goes ahead, it’s a matter of time before European football becomes the NFL

Well, as most of the clubs are from the European Union, a pan-European league is inevitable. It's really just a matter of time.

 

[Drico]

I think it’s far too early to say how good this will be for the “smaller” teams, especially those that qualify for Europe regularly. There is no funding in place yet as far as we have seen and as a result no model for prize distribution. They have to make it a lot more attractive for the constant CL competitors for them to bother with the hassle. So then it’s a case of how much money is it actually going to bring in for teams in the Blue League?

Also there is no explanation of how qualification will work. How likely is it that these smaller teams are still going to have a chance of some European football? Or will it end up after a couple of seasons with 10 teams from the top 4 leagues and then a few breadcrumbs for everyone else?

For example will they cap the number of teams from each country as they are now? Or will that just be the case at the beginning and they slowly all get spat out?

As of next season, 100 teams will qualify for a European competition. That is a big drop off to 64 when only 20 of those are available each new season.

I expect the UEFA competitions for the remainder - such as the Conference League - will continue.

 

[Wizard]

I expect the UEFA competitions for the remainder - such as the Conference League - will continue.

Firstly that would still be worse than what they have now. And secondly I don’t see how that can possibly work? Those comps will die quite quickly if they try to keep them going without the top European teams. Who is going to buy TV rights for any kind of European competition when the best teams aren’t going to be in it? And why would UEFA accept being a a drop down organisation when there is no money in it for them?

Will be interesting to know if UEFA and FIFA will be able to ban players from the World Cup and the Euros. I really don’t see any players at the top being up for the ESL in the first place as they already play too much football (and earn loads) and then if they can’t play for their national teams as well.

Complete non starter for me but I guess we have to wait and see what the actual fully fledged offer is.

 

[Drico]

The problem I have with this proposed format is that it does nothing to level the playing field across Europe. The problem with the current UEFA set-up is that if you are a huge club in a small TV market, e.g., Benfica or Ajax, you are doomed. They need a chance to compete on a level playing field where the TV market - for it is TV that makes the money - is ALL of Europe, not England or Spain or Italy, etc. In other words, this format does not go far enough.

Instead of 14 matches each in the league, it should be a complete league programme of more than twice that - and then the knockouts. In other words, the domestic leagues should be mere feeders for this, the tip of the pyramid. In that sense, if there were 10 English clubs among the 64, all of them would leave the domestic league and play their 36 matches or whatever in the Super League. The sides remaining in the domestic leagues then qualify by topping their league. With solidarity payments to the domestic leagues while this starts - and by pooling the TV rights of the domestic leagues with the Super League - you would actually end up with a fairer pyramid based on merit - not whether you happen to be based in the English TV market or not. I mean, Burnley being richer than Ajax is a farce and unsustainable if we give a damn about European football and meritocracy.

Of course, all of this could have been done in the past by UEFA, but they didn't care. And this new format won't be designed to protect the entire pyramid either, so it's all moot.

 

[Drico]

Firstly that would still be worse than what they have now. And secondly I don’t see how that can possibly work? Those comps will die quite quickly if they try to keep them going without the top European teams. Who is going to buy TV rights for any kind of European competition when the best teams aren’t going to be in it? And why would UEFA accept being a a drop down organisation when there is no money in it for them?

Will be interesting to know if UEFA and FIFA will be able to ban players from the World Cup and the Euros. I really don’t see any players at the top being up for the ESL in the first place as they already play too much football (and earn loads) and then if they can’t play for their national teams as well.

Complete non starter for me but I guess we have to wait and see what the actual fully fledged offer is.

But if UEFA are the organiser of the Super League as well...

 

[Drico]

Firstly that would still be worse than what they have now. And secondly I don’t see how that can possibly work? Those comps will die quite quickly if they try to keep them going without the top European teams. Who is going to buy TV rights for any kind of European competition when the best teams aren’t going to be in it? And why would UEFA accept being a a drop down organisation when there is no money in it for them?

Will be interesting to know if UEFA and FIFA will be able to ban players from the World Cup and the Euros. I really don’t see any players at the top being up for the ESL in the first place as they already play too much football (and earn loads) and then if they can’t play for their national teams as well.

Complete non starter for me but I guess we have to wait and see what the actual fully fledged offer is.

I believe today's judgement suggests that UEFA cannot ban players from their competitions just because they play in a Super League.

 

[LEONARD]

Slysports are treating Aston Villa like some chav lottery winner, trying to book a room at Claridges.

 

[d34noj]

Even PSG are distancing themselves now lol

Not like the French to back down.

 

[Brownie]

The Star League, the Gold League, and the Blue League. Fantastic. They must have quite the marketing minds over there at A22.

 

[WA Toffee]

I think the main difference is that it's actually quite simple for one of these clubs to blitz their own participation at the top table by being terrible, like Chelsea have. Under these new proposals it would be really difficult to do, and it would take numerous seasons to do it.

Yes, the individual clubs change, but the outcome is the same. The last 8 in the champions league will be clubs from Spain, England, Germany and Italy. Same as it has been for the last 15 years. Holland and Portugal are not able to compete at the business end any more, let alone clubs from Greece, Sweden, Austria etc.

Super league will be the exact same - teams from the same four countries having a monopoly, and everyone else being grateful for the little scraps they are being thrown.

 

[Dymak]

Well, as most of the clubs are from the European Union, a pan-European league is inevitable. It's really just a matter of time.

We already have it with the Champions League, especially with the forthcoming changes that make it a league competition followed by a knockout competition, making it near identical to this latest ESL proposal.

This ESL is not about facilitating competition between European Clubs, it’s about certain clubs wanting to circumvent UEFA so that they can become the rule makers and the revenue distributors.

I think it’s really arrogant of the elite clubs to think the rest of the football world is going to be on board with this. They are expecting the rest of the football world to agree to a set of rules that sets them up for life and leaves everyone else fighting for crumbs.

The rest of the footballing world isn’t going to agree to that.

 

[OneTrueLegend]

The problem I have with this proposed format is that it does nothing to level the playing field across Europe. The problem with the current UEFA set-up is that if you are a huge club in a small TV market, e.g., Benfica or Ajax, you are doomed. They need a chance to compete on a level playing field where the TV market - for it is TV that makes the money - is ALL of Europe, not England or Spain or Italy, etc. In other words, this format does not go far enough.

Instead of 14 matches each in the league, it should be a complete league programme of more than twice that - and then the knockouts. In other words, the domestic leagues should be mere feeders for this, the tip of the pyramid. In that sense, if there were 10 English clubs among the 64, all of them would leave the domestic league and play their 36 matches or whatever in the Super League. The sides remaining in the domestic leagues then qualify by topping their league. With solidarity payments to the domestic leagues while this starts - and by pooling the TV rights of the domestic leagues with the Super League - you would actually end up with a fairer pyramid based on merit - not whether you happen to be based in the English TV market or not. I mean, Burnley being richer than Ajax is a farce and unsustainable if we give a damn about European football and meritocracy.

Of course, all of this could have been done in the past by UEFA, but they didn't care. And this new format won't be designed to protect the entire pyramid either, so it's all moot.

I think the biggest thing for me is that the overall qualification should come from the domestic leagues and cups. Similar to how it works now, with one small exception, that if the teams from the league continue to do well in the European competition, they will have more places in the top competition.

so lets say there are 10 English teams in the new competition

4 in the Top league, 3 in the Middle and 3 at the Bottom, over time the 6 places allocated to the EPL in the bottom leagues could move up to the top league, if the English teams continue to be successful collectively.

Lets say Newcastle were in that bottom league, but they won their European league and finished 11th in the premier league, they would get back in the European league the following season, in place of the 10th placed premier league team, because they won a European trophy and would compete in the middle league.

In another scenario lets say Newcastle were in that bottom league, finished in the relegation places, it would mean the premier league could have their allocation reduced and only 9 Premier league teams would get in the overall competition.

 

[Marius57]

This is the gist of it but the numbers are a bit off.

- Top 2 leagues are 16 teams each
- 3rd league is 32 with 20 of them being relegated out of the ESL each year.

Explainer on format here for anyone interested

Yeah I knew the numbers and league names etc were wrong. Was just trying to show how not based on merit the set up is. But you did a much better job