Why the European Super League is a Bad Idea

The soccer world was shaken to its core on Monday when it was announced by twelve of Europe's biggest clubs that they would be breaking away from the traditional Champions League competition and creating a new Super League, one that would completely alter the nature of football entirely. This new league would be closed off to these select twelve clubs in Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Liverpool, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid, would be a mid-week European contest similar to that of the Champions League, but instead of having a group stage where various clubs of different size and stature would compete, only these listed twelve would play each in a sort-of NFL style table. This announcement has been met with massive criticism, anger, and what may soon come, legal action. With so much news coming in day by day of developments of this debacle, I wanted to explain why this Super League could be one of the worst things to happen to the universal game, not just for the sake of competition, but also on a social and political scale. 

European football has always been about an extremely difficult and competitive soccer experience, and this has been shown countless times over how even clubs without as many financial resources as the twelve listed above can achieve massive success. The current structure of most domestic football leagues across the European continent goes as follows: the winner of the league wins the title, gets prize money, and qualifies for a spot in one of UEFA's tournaments. The second through fourth or fifth-place finishers also qualify for spots in these tournaments. As in the case of the big leagues like the Premier League, the top four places are for the Champions League and the fifth place gets a spot in the Europa League. A wrinkle in this system is the domestic cups in which some, like the FA Cup, give the winner an automatic spot in the Europa League. Winning the Europa League guarantees a spot in the Champions League the following season. It has built up the way teams compete and how smaller teams can overcome some of these giant clubs to win these contests. This has been the way of football for over a century and a half, but this new Super League threatens to topple all that.

The Super League would be closed off to only the twelve big clubs listed above. They would basically play each other mid-week, with no group stage where clubs like Ajax, Roma, Sevilla, or Porto would be included. There would be no knockout round, rather some type of playoffs. No teams in this league would be eliminated and forced to start over, which is where some of the biggest criticisms lie. This basically renders the domestic leagues and cup tournaments irrelevant. Not only are these super-rich clubs trying to keep out smaller teams, but they are also ruining what made soccer so great in the first place: the passion and competitiveness of the game. The current system allows for some of these small clubs to reach new heights, as in the example of Porto in 2004, where they won the Champions League and Leicester in 2016, when they won the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League and made it to the knockout stages. These two clubs are nowhere near the size or have the pedigree to the likes of United or Liverpool (though Leicester is now growing exponentially), but with the Super League in place, accomplishments like that will now worth less than they were before. This is how it would hurt one of the most key aspects of the game. Not only is this Super League a greedy scheme by owners to keep prize money consolidated under a select few clubs, but it also takes away the importance of winning the domestic cups or competing for the European qualification spots. As you can imagine, fans of these smaller teams are absolutely furious, as too are the fans of the twelve dissenting clubs. 

On a social level, football is embedded in the fabric of European society, and dare I say the world. It is a spectacle to be worshipped and loved, but without the fierceness of the sport, there would be little draw to it. The Super League could destroy that love and ultimately, incite a massive revolt in social norms. Football has bonded people within some of these countries, even rival fans. Look at what happened when Diego Maradona died. Rival fans from Boca Juniors and River Plate hugged each other mourning their national hero, and these clubs loathe each other. In Europe, it may not be the same but the fact is soccer has kept Europe together. It has allowed people from all different walks of life and countries and creeds to come together and compete with each other. With globalization, this has only been heightened. This new league would not a symbol of openness; rather, it reeks of suppression and eltism. While the idea of this kind of league might sound like a fun idea, the idea of it being closed off to small clubs does not represent a sport that was invented by poor, working-class people. One of the many signs being tweeted around is "Created by the Poor, Stolen by the Rich" and sadly, these past few days have proven that to be a valid point. 

There are also certain political aspects to take into account with this new Super League. UEFA intends to punish the players who choose to play for this league by banning them from international duty, which would include the EUROs this summer and the World Cup in 2022. This is something that will be considered immensely by the players and their agents, especially as playing for one's country is a distinguished honor. Now, imagine the top players in Europe were banned from competing in a World Cup in one of the wealthiest nation on Earth, with some of the biggest oil reserves in the world. I can't imagine the Qatari royal family being happy to know they will not be seeing Messi, Ronaldo, Pogba, or Kane in the national team colors. They have spent a lot of money building venues for the World Cup, and to be noted, thousands of workers have died during construction, as it continues through the height of the pandemic. There are severe political ramifications to this. Surely, FIFA will get involved and that can only mean this whole mess will get worse before it gets better. There is a lot at stake with this Qatar World Cup, more than just money. The geopolitical balance is very contingent on sporting achievements, especially among European nations and football.  

The Super League is presenting itself to be a business venture rather than a good football contest and fans know this. They are calling for massive action to be taken by UEFA, the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A to stop these dissenting clubs from breaking away from the traditional system. While the prospect of this kind of league may seem exciting at first glance, the bigger picture is not so grand. This would seriously hurt the nature of football and the smaller clubs would not benefit from not being able to join this league. To think, this league idea was formed in opposition to UEFA's decision to expand to 36 teams in the Champions League. It is horrible to think these clubs want to leave because UEFA wants to make the landscape more competitive. Ultimately, I don't think this move will play out the way the owners of these clubs think it will, and there are already rumors swirling around one of the dissenting English clubs is getting cold feet about joining. In closing, the Super League threatens to destroy one of the greatest treasures the world has, all for money. That alone is a horrible reason to not allow this move to happen, and there will be more fallout if the Super League comes to frutition.