How the European Super League works: Teams involved, promotion & relegation and latest proposal
Despite backlash from fans, those backing a European Super League are pushing ahead with plans to create a new breakaway competition to rival the Champions League.
Plans for such a competition were first unveiled in the summer of 2021 with most of Europe's biggest clubs signed up, but the majority of them backed out following significant protests from fans.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have remained committed though, even in the face of threats from FIFA and UEFA, and a new format has now been put forward.
What was the initial European Super League proposal?
When the Super League was first announced in 2021, the plan was for it to be an annual competition consisting of 20 clubs with 15 permanent members and five spots being given out based on sporting achievements each season.
This proposal wasn't popular with fans, with the majority throughout Europe unhappy with the idea of reputation rather than merit deciding which sides compete in an elite competition.
Supporters made their feelings clear, protesting outside the stadiums of the teams they supported, and these protests along with threats from UEFA and FIFA led to nine of the 12 supposed founding members - including England's top six clubs - pulling out, with only Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus not doing so.
As a result, the Super League announced that the plans would be put on hold and reshaped.
Teams involved in initial Super League proposal
Team | Nation |
|---|---|
Arsenal | England |
Chelsea | England |
Liverpool | England |
Manchester City | England |
Manchester United | England |
Tottenham Hotspur | England |
Inter | Italy |
Juventus | Italy |
Milan | Italy |
Atletico Madrid | Spain |
Barcelona | Spain |
Real Madrid | Spain |
Chairman and vice-chairmen
Name | Position | Club | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
Florentino Perez | Chairman | Real Madrid | Spain |
Andrea Agnelli | Vice-chairman | Juventus | Italy |
Joel Glazer | Vice-chairman | Manchester United | United States |
John W. Henry | Vice-chairman | Liverpool | United States |
Stan Kroenke | Vice-chairman | Arsenal | United States |
European Super League prize money
The Super League's own website says "solidarity payments" will go beyond €10bn during its innitial commitment period.
It has been reported that founding members of the European Super League would hope to earn as much as €350m each season. The prize money for winning the UEFA Champions League in 2021/22 was worth around £70m for comparison.
The league would also hope to generate commercial and broadcasting revenue, similar to what has been seen with the Premier League in recent years. Total revenue from such deals could exceed €4bn.
What's happened since the initial proposal?
The Super League didn't disappear after the initial collapse by any means, with the heads of the three remaining clubs still involved often declaring their support for it and asserting it would be introduced in the future.
In October 2022, plans to resurrect it ramped up when former RTL executive Bernd Reichart was appointed CEO of the project and made an announcement saying the Super League would be relaunched within three years, adding that the current system in European football was unsustainable.
UEFA met with A22, the company heading up the launch of the competition, less than a month later and reiterated their displeasure and opposition, threatening legal action.
Despite that though, new plans have now been officially put forward for the introduction of a new European Super League.
What's the new European Super League proposal?
The Super League that is now being proposed would consist of as many as 80 teams and qualification would apparently be based on merit.
Reichart has stated that no clubs would have a permanent place in the competition and that the participants would be determined by performances in domestic divisions.
The competition would be split up into multiple leagues with promotion and relegation in place as a further commitment to merit-based rules.
Each team competing in it would be guaranteed at least 14 matches a season and would still compete in their domestic leagues, but not the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League.
How many divisions the 80 teams would be split into is unclear, as is which teams would compete in it with UEFA, FIFA and national governing bodies remaining as opposed as ever.
What has been the response?
La Liga responded quickly, again reiterating the dangers of a breakaway competition. Their statement read: The Super League is a wolf disguised as grandma in the hope of tricking European football but its teeth are very big."
Spanish League president Javier Tebas tweeted: "Four divisions? Of course the top one for them. Government by the clubs? Of course only the big clubs."
Football Supporters' Association's chief executive Kevin Miles added: "The walking corpse that is the European Super League twitches again with all the self-awareness one associates with a zombie.
"Their newest idea is to have an 'open competition' rather than the closed shop they originally proposed that led to huge fan protests. Of course an open competition for Europe's top clubs already exists - it's called the Champions League.
"They say 'dialogue with fans and independent fan groups is essential' yet the European Zombie League marches on - wilfully ignorant to the contempt supporters across the continent have for it."