Premier League clubs' fresh talks over Super League ahead of new court hearing
Promoters of the European Super League are confident a new competition can be in place for 2025 - with or without English clubs.
Premier League sides have held fresh talks with A22 Sports Management about a breakaway tournament since a landmark court ruling in December said UEFA and FIFA "acted unlawfully" by blocking the initial ESL in 2021.
And with the case returning to the Madrid Commercial Court today, Super League backers believe there will be an avalanche effect once a club commits to their new format.
They are now hopeful of having a rival to the Champions League in place for the 2025-26 campaign and discussions with English teams behind the scenes have been described as “open-minded.”
Spanish judges, who referred the initial case to the European Court of Justice, will apply the recommended ruling published by the continent’s top court in December - leaving the door ajar for a new competition controlled directly by clubs.
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But hurdles remain. UEFA have already changed their regulations and retain the support of FAs across Europe.
The European Clubs Association, which represents more than 200 clubs and is led by Paris Saint-Germain chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is vehemently opposed to the idea. And the prospect of an already much-delayed independent regulator in English football could also prove a barrier for Premier League sides.
Yet those obstacles have not slowed talks behind the scenes and, in addition to renewed dialogue with Premier League sides, A22 have been targeting clubs from outside Europe’s “big five” leagues - including Scotland.
Pro-Super League officials are confident that more than a dozen clubs are ready to commit, with the introduction of a new Champions League format from next season driving a fresh wave of interest in change.
Only Barcelona and Real Madrid have publicly backed a new competition but there is a belief that an avalanche effect will be in place once another club commits. Barca chief Joan Laporta last month named 15 clubs who he claimed are “ready to join”, including both Milan sides and Portugal’s big three, but denials followed from Roma, Marseille and Feyenoord.
Joan Laporta last month named more than a dozen clubs he said are ready to join a breakaway competition. (Getty Images)A22 have already unveiled a competition structure that would see three divisions featuring 64 clubs and promotion and relegation but they want club officials to be in charge and the format is “open to refinement” if there is a groundswell of opinion. A women’s competition will run alongside it.
The promoters last week published a poll claiming 65 per cent of English fans surveyed were in favour of a Super League. And they insist that supporters who remain against the idea can be convinced through increased communication going forward.
A22 have vowed to make every Super League game free to watch, via a streaming service called Unify. But fans will be expected to pay for added content such as studio analysis with the unpaid option merely providing a basic broadcast of the action.
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