• ESL started up again with a new format
  • 60–80 teams will take part
  • Excludes Premier League teams

WHAT TOOK PLACE?

There are rumours of a new European Super League (ESL) format that will include 60–80 teams in a four-tier system. Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus refuse to give up on their hopes of creating an alternative to the UEFA Champions League on the continent. All of the divisions would be made based on performance and merit, and there would be no special treatment for founding members.

But, according to The Sun, the new format won’t include any Premier League teams. A22, a sports marketing company based in Madrid, said this was because of the financial success of the English clubs.

You Can Buy Our Club but You Can’t by Our Heart and Soul.

Public Reaction

HOW THEY SAID IT:

One insider said, “This is a Brexit in reverse. We’re talking about a closed league that tries to prove itself by putting Europe against England. At the same time, they say they want to be as successful as the Prem. It would be an understatement to say that people are confused.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE:

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) dealt a huge blow to the ESL when it said that an independent tournament could be set up “outside the UEFA and FIFA ecosystem,” but that the ESL couldn’t keep playing in FIFA and UEFA tournaments at the same time. The full decision on the case is expected to come from the ECJ in a few weeks.

WHAT THEN?

The governing body of European football, UEFA, is strongly against the ESL. In November 2022, UEFA said, “The whole of European football is against their greedy plan.” They have the support of the head of La Liga, Javier Tebas, who says that “the Super League is the wolf who is trying to trick European football by dressing up as a granny.”