The European Super League stakeholders have finally won in their long-standing dispute with UEFA. The European Court Of Justice has ruled in favor of the proposed league, and the tournament is all set to go. The pan-European League will have teams from each of the top leagues in Europe. Yet, the prospects of the Premier League participating in it look very unclear after a recent verdict of the Government of the United Kingdom.
🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: UK government will be legislating to introduce a football regulator that will STOP clubs from joining any similar breakaway competitions in the future.
(Source: @RobHarris) pic.twitter.com/M12iaKCrKt
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) December 21, 2023
The Premier League is the most viewed soccer league in the world. Its clubs are commercial giants with a huge fan base. The ESL initially had Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, and the two North London clubs namely, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. However, the six clubs had to back off amidst backlash from the fans and potential sanctions from UEFA.
ESL’s legal ratification did ignite the hopes of the Premier League teams. But a recent legislation by the Rishi Sunak-led UK Government has shocked the English clubs. The Government has proposed a plan to stop English clubs from being inducted as participants in the European Super League.
The UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sports plans to pass a bill to form an independent soccer regulator. This would make it illegal for the English clubs to participate in the breakaway league.
🚨🔴 Manchester United statement on Super League.
“Our position has NOT changed”.
“We remain fully committed to participation in UEFA competitions, and to positive cooperation with UEFA, the Premier League, and fellow clubs through the ECA on the continued development of the… pic.twitter.com/leDAlStyP7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 21, 2023
A DCMS spokesperson had this to say, regarding the legislation (via Independent), “The attempt to create a breakaway competition was a defining moment in English football and was universally condemned by fans, clubs, and the Government.
“We took decisive action at the time by triggering the fan-led review of football governance, which called for the creation of a new independent regulator for English football. We will shortly be bringing forward legislation that makes this a reality, and will stop clubs from joining any similar breakaway competitions in the future.”
To make matters even worse, the UK has left the EU and is not bound by European Union law. The clubs, therefore, won’t be able to approach the European Court of Justice.
The European Super League has introduced an interesting format
The European Super League had initially proposed a different format for the tournament. The League wanted to move with 20 clubs, 12 of them being the founding members. The 12 founding members were protected by the League’s rules, which said that the founding clubs could not ever be relegated, The fans heavily criticized this arbitrary legislation.
Following its legal ratification, A22 the Sports Management Company behind this League has laid out its plans to improve the format. The Company has planned a complete revamp of the tournament format. The new format allows room for 64 teams from the initial 20.
Our proposed new men’s ESL competition is a league structure based on a true pan-European pyramid: It will consist of 64 participating clubs in three tiers. Watch the video to learn more about the key elements. #BetterForFootball pic.twitter.com/yHfhVaPTFt
— A22 Sports (@A22Sports) December 21, 2023
These 64 teams, would be divided into three tiers-Star, Gold, and Blue. The top two tiers would have 16 teams each while The ‘Blue’ tier would have 32 teams in it. The top two tiers will have two groups of 8 teams each. These teams will play 14 games, 7 being home games and the rest of the games being away. The top four teams from each group would play a two-legged quarter-final and semi-final before playing the final of the tournament.
The last tier ‘blue’ would consist of 4 groups of 8 teams each. The top two from each of the groups would qualify for the quarter-final. However, the qualification criteria for the European Super League haven’t been clarified yet.