With a German at the top and a changed concept, the makers of the Super League are making another attempt to revolutionize European club football.
Former RTL Germany boss Bernd Reichart is said to represent the failed project of the great powers Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Juventus Turin - and in the struggle for billions also break up the vehement rejection of the Bundesliga.
"Of course I would also like to convey to the German clubs what has changed in the approach," said Reichart, the new head of A22 Sports Management, which supports the Super League, the German Press Agency. "I'm looking forward to talks in every European territory, including Germany of course. I'm about to deposit the openness of the competition."
Original form failed
The Super League project failed in its original form in April 2021. The European football union UEFA, which organizes the most important international club competition with the Champions League, put up massive resistance. Of the twelve top clubs that initially sought a spin-off, nine withdrew within a few hours. German clubs were not among the founding members.
The contradiction extended to the highest level of politics. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser recently castigated the project in "Kicker" as "lacking solidarity" and emphasized: "Anyone who loves football is against a Super League." DFB President Bernd Neuendorf described the clubs' initiative as a "frontal attack on the European sports model and the basic values of sport".
There was particularly strong criticism of the concept, which undermined the sporting qualification through fixed starting places for clubs. The makers now want to counteract this. "There is no format sketch that is ready," said Reichart about the new plans. The concept of permanent membership is off the table. "In the last few days, all clubs involved have made it clear that the format must be open and take sporting performance into account."
Financially strained situation
The Super League makers see the financially tense situation caused by the corona pandemic as an argument on their side. The top Spanish and Italian clubs in particular are heavily in debt, and Barcelona and Juve are facing relegation to the Europa League despite a record minus.
"The football ecosystem is no longer sustainable, the pandemic has accelerated this trend, the system has become unstable and is no longer self-financing," said Reichart. "European club football is losing its leading role in world sport because it doesn't offer the best games week in and week out. The consequences are sometimes dramatic, especially the younger crowd prefers to watch other offers and less and less live football."
The courts have long been dealing with the dispute over the leadership role in European club football. The fundamental question of whether UEFA and the world association FIFA form a cartel with their competitions - as denounced according to the lawsuit - is currently before the European Court of Justice. The "European Super League Company" had filed a lawsuit against UEFA and FIFA with a court in Madrid, which had asked the ECJ to interpret EU law for the proceedings. A verdict is expected next year.
"I am very excited"
Regardless of the court's decision, UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin had already called the Super League project "dead". "If someone declares something dead like a prayer wheel, I become suspicious and would get to the bottom of it," said Reichart. "I'm very excited and very motivated to see how the clubs really think and whether Aleksander Ceferin really speaks for all clubs in Europe qua office."
So it remains to be seen whether the forecast by Bayern's ex-CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge will come true. "The topic is off the table," the member of the UEFA executive board said in February. "There will never be a privately organized Super League again." At least the name - which may have been burned in public - has not yet been established. "It is also important that we openly discuss this with the football family," said Reichart. "Even the name Super League is not set."
A22 Sports Management
