04 March 2024 , 21:34
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The company behind the attempts to set up a European Super League have released findings of a survey they paid for which, unsurprisingly, found there is a desire among fans for a European Super League.
The first Super League proposal fell flat on its face amid a storm of fan protests and clubs backtracking. It has since risen from the ashes, with a company called A22 working hard to push its agenda, revive and rebrand the controversial idea.
Buoyed by a ruling from the European Court of Justice that UEFA had broken European competition law by blocking the formation of the ESL, A22 wants to set up a rival to the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League system.
They are proposing a three-division competition involving 64 teams with promotion and relegation and claim they have 20 clubs ready to jump ship. Now they claim to have legal grounds to establish it, and clubs to play in it, they are trying to show desire from supporters who will pay their money to watch it.
You will never guess what: 72 per cent of European football fans – and 65 per cent of UK fans – support a Super League. That is the finding of a survey commissioned by A22 and carried out by a company called OpinionWay, who claim their work was “conducted in accordance with the latest scientific standards”.
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Reacting to their paid-for results, Bernd Reichart, chief executive of A22, said: “We have evidence that the desire for a European Super League as a much more exciting alternative to the current European club football competition is stronger than ever.” But a closer look at the survey hints at why those numbers might be a tad misleading.
OpinionWay surveyed 6,458 football fans aged 15 and over, with just over 800 fans in France, Germany, Spain, UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. Despite saying they “interviewed” them, the methodology shows the survey was actually done via a self-administered online questionnaire. Meanwhile football fans were defined as “people reporting to be fairly or very interested in football”.
Fans protested against the European Super League in 2021 (PA)The first question reads: “On December 21th, the Court of Justice of the European Union ended UEFA's monopoly on the organisation of club football competitions at European level. Have you heard about this decision?” If they answered yes, they were then asked “Do you agree with the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union?”
Next comes the key question: “Are you very much in favour, somewhat in favour, somewhat against or very against the creation of the European Super League?” But first, before you answer that question, we will show you our video about the European Super League. The contents of that video have not been publicised along with the results, but it’s fair to say that it is likely to show things through rose-coloured glasses.
It might well have omitted the fact that the original ESL in April 2021 collapsed within 72 hours of its launch, with fans across Europe taking to the streets to protest against their clubs’ decision.
For what it’s worth, here are some of the other findings. Support was higher among the younger age groups, with 86 per cent of the 956-strong group aged 15 to 24 in favour, while Manchester City and Chelsea fans were the most keen among English fans. Of the 75 City supporters surveyed, 85 per cent supported the new ESL proposal and 81 per cent of the 63 Chelsea supporters were in favour.
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