[Football] Will the current plan for the European Super League happen? Yes or No?

[martin tyler]

All about money as always.
There is a big deal to be had. Clubs like Madrid, Barcelona, man United all close to a billion pounds worth of debt. They want the money and will do what they can to get this over the line.
They have all burnt their bridges with everyone else including their own fans and are looking now to those “fans” abroad millions of miles away who want to watch this. All 12 clubs are now appealing to a worldwide fan base.

They will also want their slice of PL money still despite the threats of expulsion for their domestic leagues. All the clubs involved will believe they are to powerful to be kicked out and will believe the appeal and money without them will be such a loss that clubs will eventually cave in and allow them to stay in. The rich will get richer and European competitions redundant as will the FA cup and league cup.

Sad day for football if they get it over the line

 

[Weststander]

No. It’s to twist UEFA’s arm to radically alter the CL.

All these angry threads will sooner rather than later become virtual chip paper.

Imho this is not a Kerry Packer moment.

 

[scoobiewhite]

I don’t give a stuff over who runs the CL or it’s supposed ESL equivalent. They’re all as bad as each other.

The 2 issues for me that are just insurmountable are:

No qualifying! WTF! 6 English clubs getting an extra £350m a season regardless.

That extra money plus lack of a need to qualify will destroy the integrity of the Prem.

It will also just creat another financial arms race with £100m transfers the norm.

It’s such a shame that football cannot self govern and keep capitalism in check.

Down with this sort of thing!

Oh and yes, I think the Americans will just do it, they will have the best lawyers.

 

[Swansman]

I dont think so but the next six months decide. If the backlash is too big, I think it will be stopped.

A lot comes down to FC Barcelona. It is the only one of the "ESL" clubs that is owned by its members (well, in theory Real as well but Perez is pretty much a dictator there) and if the majority of their members wants to stop it, I dont see how they could join, and there's no such thing as a European Super League without Barcelona... or Real, if their fans care to join in on this subject.

Same goes for Bayern Munchen, who are probably among the three "expected to join". Their members could also say no.

Football fans in England unfortunately dont have much of a say. The supporters are in reality customers of a foreign-owned (but UK based) sports company, not a "football club", and if they can get 20 million new customers elsewhere they really dont care if they lose a few million back "home". But even they might back off if Barca, Real and Bayern eventually says no, as most of the value is gone. No one needs or wants a English-Italian competition.

 

[Farehamseagull]

Yes. There might be some tweaks to the current format but it will happen.

The genie is already out of the bottle and we've already seen how powerless UEFA and the domestic leagues are to this. Mealy mouthed statements rather than firm action.

 

[Yoda]

By the looks of it, it will be the only football they get to play, so yes.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Can't see the tide being held back on this one. They'll have factored in what the strength of backlash would likely be and decided to just ride it out. Bound to be a huge detrimental impact on the EPL broadcasting rights money. Not good

 

[Brovion]

ESL along side EPL . https://thesuperleague.com/#who_we_are

CL is upto UEFA, they'll probably continue, on surface without the affected leagues.

i have a feeling they'll go through with it.

Bloody all those abbreviations, it's like reading a 'Line of Duty' script!

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

No, it won't happen - it's a bluff, a massive game of poker.

They want a bigger share of the CL cash, and some tweaks to allow them to qualify every year regardless of league position.

 

[Barham's tash]

It’s been clear for a while that the power UEFA holds via the CL was at odds with their policy on FFP for the billionaire owners. They needed a space at the UCL trough but hated being dictated to by UEFA.

There are/were schisms all over the political football landscape:

UEFA themselves had suggested tweaks to the UCL/ a new club competition that put it up against FIFA competitions as UEFA believed their product was superior.

FIFA hated the power UEFA has/had and feared these new competitions and there had been a mooted possibility of making World Cups every two years to counter this threat.

Clubs themselves were unhappy at the international schedule and terms of compensation for releasing players.

All of this led to a power vacuum and it should come at no surprise this was in the offing, especially with the attempt last year too. So now the question football has to ask at all levels is ultimately EVERYONE with a dog in the fight loves the financial power of the game, if not the game itself, but it’s either mediate and compromise all round or finally eat its own head and watch as the whole game implodes.

What could this all mean for the Albion? Almost certainly lower revenues from TV, cutting of cloth accordingly [we’ve already started] but potentially the chance of some success.

I’m certainly not all for it because of the disruption it will inevitably cause but are we much much much better placed than many to ride this out and emerge in a better place? Yep.

 

[Mancgull]

How can they say it’s a midweek competition and just expect the Premier League to comply with playing games at Weekends. It’s beyond arrogant. Anyway, surely they have made a massive blunder by excluding ‘Champions of Europe, Leeds United’. Utter incompetence!

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Whether it happens or not, having a multi-nation league where half the original members come from one country is a joke!

 

[beorhthelm]

How can they say it’s a midweek competition and just expect the Premier League to comply with playing games at Weekends. It’s beyond arrogant.

same as Champions League/Europa at present.

 

[Pint of Ale and a Burger]

I think the owners will push it through.
They would have expected this backlash and either made preparations for it or decided that the benefits of the new league will eventually far outweigh any sanctions or penalties against them.

 

[martin tyler]

same as Champions League/Europa at present.

Some countries may hold a monopoly but it at least includes champion from most of Europe and they at least have to earn it by playing well. Joke here is teams like arsenal and spurs having automatic qualification despite in the real world them struggling to even get into the europa league. What sort of competition is a closed competition. No relegation, no promotion and if they are kicked out I doubt it will even include the 5 teams who have actually earns a right to be there anyway

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Without Bayern and PSG it won't happen.

PSG are too close to UEFA and Bayern's ownership rules won't allow it.

European Super League without German or French involvement? Really?

 

[1066familyman]

Depends on how forceful FIFA are. I expect the clubs aren’t really fussed if they are thrown out of their domestic leagues. If however their players can’t play international football I think that will be the death of it.

FIFA are on board with the current proposal.

 

[vagabond]

FIFA are on board with the current proposal.

They are? Where have you seen that?

 

[1066familyman]

They are? Where have you seen that?

Read the ESL statement and then FIFA's statement. Doesn't take much reading between the lines.

 

[Driver8]

They are? Where have you seen that?

FIFA will follow the money. They can’t get enough.