The lessons of the Super League fiasco and why the danger is not yet over
Brighton & Hove Albion players warm up wearing a t-shirt with a message in protest against the European Super League prior to their Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on April 20, 2021. (Photo by Neil Hall - Pool/Getty Images)
LAUSANNE, April 24, 2021 – European football witnessed one of its most dramatic moments this week, after it was rocked by the sudden announcement of a breakaway football tournament by 12 of the continent’s leading clubs on Sunday night. The seemingly sneaky scheme, however, lasted only 48 hours filled with fierce opposition from fans, players, politicians and football authorities.
Like a failed coup, the European Super League fell apart before it even started, following the withdrawal of most of the teams involved - “born April 18, 2021, died April 20, 2021” as inscribed on its viral tombstone on Tuesday. But a “second wave” is expected.
Football experts from different parts of the world discussed the past, present and probable future of the Super League in an AIPS seminar on Friday, April 23: “Will the European Super League rescue or destroy football?”
NEED FOR CHANGE In his opening remarks, AIPS president, Gianni Merlo explained that although the Super League met with a swift halt, it is important to still talk about it “to prepare ourselves for a future situation” because one thing that is clear from the recent debacle is “the need to change, perhaps some rules or formats”. He emphasised that the AIPS seminar was not organised to take a position but to open the minds of colleagues and discuss the facts because “for sure the sport has to change”. Merlo added: “I think people did not believe so much in the project as it was presented this time, but maybe a similar project can work one day, if organised in a different way. In this case the move was in the interest of a few clubs.”
POOR PUBLIC RELATIONS Marca Editor-in-Chief, Juan Ignacio Gallardo pointed out that “it is incomprehensible that twelve clubs of that calibre presented such a huge project in such a sloppy way”, adding that “the terrible handling of communication was one of the weakest pillars” of the Super League. The same view was expressed by AIPS Football Delegate Keir Radnedge, who said the launch of the Super League was described in England as amateurish. “But that would be an insult to the amateurs who have created their sport and work in sport and run sport. It was amazing, the lack of consultation within their own clubs, the poor PR. They had lost the battle of communication, even before they started,” Radnedge explained.
AIPS Sport Media Awards juror Jaap de Groot also weighed in on the Super League’s PR disaster, saying he was “embarrassed”. He however understood that a “lack of income for three years in a row” due to COVID is the main reason why the debt-ridden clubs involved in the Super League “panicked”.
HISTORY OF SUPER LEAGUE Going down memory lane, Radnedge shared a timeline of whispers and suggestions about the European Super League starting from an article titled “Economic reality will force the European League”, written by Brian Glanville in February 1964 for World Soccer magazine, through a Silvio Berlusconi interview about his vision for football published in February 1992, to the recent fiasco.
“Fiasco” is how AIPS Mentor Martin Mazur chose to describe the Super League, but he quickly added “it will come back” – an opinion shared by virtually everyone who spoke at the AIPS seminar. “This project has failed, but nothing has changed in the game,” said Radnedge. “None of the problems of the financial and structural imbalance have been resolved, ticket prices will not come down because of this week, and the price of replica shirts will not come down.”
FRAGILE STRUCTURE Like Radnedge said, “football clubs are always looking for the next money opportunity”, but one takeaway from the crumbled Super League is this: “There was much talk of billions, of distribution among the founders, of overwhelming income generation, but no self-criticism in matters such as containment of resources, cost reduction, waste in signings and salaries,” Gallardo observed. “That is impossible convince anyone. The very structure of the tournament was so fragile that any breath would have brought it down.”
SUPERCOPA Mazur shared instances of how new formats and tournaments have been birthed in Argentine and South American football so as to please the big teams. One of such is the Supercopa, which existed for 10 years. He also spoke of how the creation of a league of South American clubs in 2016 forced CONMEBOL to increase the money paid to teams competing in the Copa Libertadores.
In Europe, “UEFA is always trying to stay one step ahead of the push for a closed Super League”, according to Radnedge, Amid the Super League chaos, UEFA introduced its new Champions League format, which Radnedge labelled holier-than-thou. However, Gallardo is hoping that the UEFA will “listen carefully to the instigators of the revolt” and understand their argument so that together they can build a sustainable path for all.
AMERICAN SPORTS MODEL Merlo stated that the lucrative American sports model which the European Super League tried to emulate has a firm foundation in college and university sports, but that is not the case in Europe. Jaap de Groot also highlighted that solidarity has been crucial in sustaining the American model.
AIPS Mentor Riccardo Romani, who understands how the business model of American sports works having lived there for 16 years, said: “Yes, the TV rights play a big role, and the salary of the best players are high, but the distribution of the profits are regulated, which makes it very difficult for owners to win only with money. You need to have a lot of knowledge of the players, a lot of knowledge of new strategies when you go to the draft, you need so many elements to become a champion and unfortunately, I didn’t see any of that in what was supposed to be the European Super League.”
FAN POWER London-based sports journalist Karlo Tasler narrated how fan power triumphed over the Super League after witnessing the protest outside Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. “I saw the fury of the fans firsthand and I can say that the anger was real. It seems in England, particularly, the connection between the local communities and the local football clubs is so big. The fans did not even let the Chelsea bus conveying the players to get into the stadium. I kept thinking of what would have happened if the Super League was announced when the UK was in lockdown and the streets were empty.”
SUPER JOURNALISTS? “What would have happened to journalism if the Super League had happened? Would there have been a super league of journalists too?” Martin wondered. This is already a problem amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Clubs are trying to cut the number of journalists in the stadia and this is not acceptable,” AIPS president Merlo said. “I hope that in the future there would be some change. We will try to discuss with the likes of UEFA, FIFA, and IOC about the future of communication, because I don’t like the idea of clubs and federations having all the power and leaving us with only a small piece. This is the big danger.”
Like a failed coup, the European Super League fell apart before it even started, following the withdrawal of most of the teams involved - “born April 18, 2021, died April 20, 2021” as inscribed on its viral tombstone on Tuesday. But a “second wave” is expected.
Football experts from different parts of the world discussed the past, present and probable future of the Super League in an AIPS seminar on Friday, April 23: “Will the European Super League rescue or destroy football?”
NEED FOR CHANGE In his opening remarks, AIPS president, Gianni Merlo explained that although the Super League met with a swift halt, it is important to still talk about it “to prepare ourselves for a future situation” because one thing that is clear from the recent debacle is “the need to change, perhaps some rules or formats”. He emphasised that the AIPS seminar was not organised to take a position but to open the minds of colleagues and discuss the facts because “for sure the sport has to change”. Merlo added: “I think people did not believe so much in the project as it was presented this time, but maybe a similar project can work one day, if organised in a different way. In this case the move was in the interest of a few clubs.”
POOR PUBLIC RELATIONS Marca Editor-in-Chief, Juan Ignacio Gallardo pointed out that “it is incomprehensible that twelve clubs of that calibre presented such a huge project in such a sloppy way”, adding that “the terrible handling of communication was one of the weakest pillars” of the Super League. The same view was expressed by AIPS Football Delegate Keir Radnedge, who said the launch of the Super League was described in England as amateurish. “But that would be an insult to the amateurs who have created their sport and work in sport and run sport. It was amazing, the lack of consultation within their own clubs, the poor PR. They had lost the battle of communication, even before they started,” Radnedge explained.
AIPS Sport Media Awards juror Jaap de Groot also weighed in on the Super League’s PR disaster, saying he was “embarrassed”. He however understood that a “lack of income for three years in a row” due to COVID is the main reason why the debt-ridden clubs involved in the Super League “panicked”.
HISTORY OF SUPER LEAGUE Going down memory lane, Radnedge shared a timeline of whispers and suggestions about the European Super League starting from an article titled “Economic reality will force the European League”, written by Brian Glanville in February 1964 for World Soccer magazine, through a Silvio Berlusconi interview about his vision for football published in February 1992, to the recent fiasco.
“Fiasco” is how AIPS Mentor Martin Mazur chose to describe the Super League, but he quickly added “it will come back” – an opinion shared by virtually everyone who spoke at the AIPS seminar. “This project has failed, but nothing has changed in the game,” said Radnedge. “None of the problems of the financial and structural imbalance have been resolved, ticket prices will not come down because of this week, and the price of replica shirts will not come down.”
FRAGILE STRUCTURE Like Radnedge said, “football clubs are always looking for the next money opportunity”, but one takeaway from the crumbled Super League is this: “There was much talk of billions, of distribution among the founders, of overwhelming income generation, but no self-criticism in matters such as containment of resources, cost reduction, waste in signings and salaries,” Gallardo observed. “That is impossible convince anyone. The very structure of the tournament was so fragile that any breath would have brought it down.”
SUPERCOPA Mazur shared instances of how new formats and tournaments have been birthed in Argentine and South American football so as to please the big teams. One of such is the Supercopa, which existed for 10 years. He also spoke of how the creation of a league of South American clubs in 2016 forced CONMEBOL to increase the money paid to teams competing in the Copa Libertadores.
In Europe, “UEFA is always trying to stay one step ahead of the push for a closed Super League”, according to Radnedge, Amid the Super League chaos, UEFA introduced its new Champions League format, which Radnedge labelled holier-than-thou. However, Gallardo is hoping that the UEFA will “listen carefully to the instigators of the revolt” and understand their argument so that together they can build a sustainable path for all.
AMERICAN SPORTS MODEL Merlo stated that the lucrative American sports model which the European Super League tried to emulate has a firm foundation in college and university sports, but that is not the case in Europe. Jaap de Groot also highlighted that solidarity has been crucial in sustaining the American model.
AIPS Mentor Riccardo Romani, who understands how the business model of American sports works having lived there for 16 years, said: “Yes, the TV rights play a big role, and the salary of the best players are high, but the distribution of the profits are regulated, which makes it very difficult for owners to win only with money. You need to have a lot of knowledge of the players, a lot of knowledge of new strategies when you go to the draft, you need so many elements to become a champion and unfortunately, I didn’t see any of that in what was supposed to be the European Super League.”
FAN POWER London-based sports journalist Karlo Tasler narrated how fan power triumphed over the Super League after witnessing the protest outside Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. “I saw the fury of the fans firsthand and I can say that the anger was real. It seems in England, particularly, the connection between the local communities and the local football clubs is so big. The fans did not even let the Chelsea bus conveying the players to get into the stadium. I kept thinking of what would have happened if the Super League was announced when the UK was in lockdown and the streets were empty.”
SUPER JOURNALISTS? “What would have happened to journalism if the Super League had happened? Would there have been a super league of journalists too?” Martin wondered. This is already a problem amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Clubs are trying to cut the number of journalists in the stadia and this is not acceptable,” AIPS president Merlo said. “I hope that in the future there would be some change. We will try to discuss with the likes of UEFA, FIFA, and IOC about the future of communication, because I don’t like the idea of clubs and federations having all the power and leaving us with only a small piece. This is the big danger.”
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