- The US banking behemoth
JP Morgan is footing the bill to set up theEuropean Super League . - Pundits and fans across Europe aren’t happy about the new move, and neither is the Union of European Football Associations (
UEFA ). - The new league will be in direct competition of the
UEFA Champions League — a move that is unprecedented in club football history.
“I can confirm that we are financing the deal, but have no further comment at the moment,” a spokesperson of the American investment bank told news agency AFP. You can call it a ‘civil war’ or a ‘criminal act against fans’ but reality is that football clubs have been hit hard by the pandemic.
Most of the clubs are saddled with debt, large wage bills, and the second wave of COVID refuses to let up. The pandemic has cost European football an estimated €2 billion (₹20,750 crore) to date, according to Deloitte.
The want for a quick financial fix is a clear one, even for the continent’s biggest clubs. And, the Super League is offering big bucks.
In signing up for the new competition, the clubs would share a fund of €3.5 billion (₹31,371 crore) to spend on infrastructure projects and to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Super League is also offering ‘uncapped solidarity payments’ to the tune of €10 billion (₹89,633 crore), which will grow as the league revenues grow over the 23-year term of the contract. According to the press release, the payments will be substantially higher than those generated by the current European competitors.
The twelve founding members of Super League so far include the
They’re being pegged as the ‘Dirty Dozen’, ‘Shameless Six’, ‘The Imposters’ and ‘The Rebels’ in newspapers across Europe.
Full list of European football clubs who have agreed to join the Super League:
But not everyone is happy about this new move. Not the fans and definitely not the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
The main argument seems to be that there is already a platform that allows clubs from different countries and leagues to compete with each other — the UEFA Champions League. Fans have pointed out that four of the 12 founding members — Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham, and Atletico Madrid — have never won the Champions League.
Instead of being hailed as something that will improve football, as the founding members claim, fans and pundits are seeing this as a grab for power and money. Leagues like England's Premier League and Italy’s
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), backed by the Spanish, English and Italian football leagues, has threatened these clubs and their players with bans and legal action.
By establishing a largely closed competition, the biggest clubs envision the future of football to be a year long reality television show whose sole purpose is to generate a ceaseless stream of content and talking points.
And, to be fair, in the age of 24-hour news cycles, this is something that may appeal to many people.
The deal is yet to be final. The Super League still needs three more clubs to sign up to make the grand total 15 before it can officially be in business. Regardless, it has plans to kick off ‘as soon as practicable’.
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