In the most recent episode of Ted Lasso, (“International Break”) one of the major plot points was the introduction of a potential “super league” of clubs, which Rebecca scuppered with an emotional and frankly brilliant speech. Like many elements of the hit Apple TV show, this idea has its roots in the real-life world of soccer, with the storyline based on something that happened a couple of years ago, but has been brewing in the soccer universe for quite some time. But what exactly was the proposed Super League? Why did it end up not happening? And is there a chance there will be a Super League in the future?
What is the Super League?
The Super League was an idea proposed by several of the richest and most powerful soccer clubs in Europe, where they would pool together to play each other in a format more like American sports, where there is no relegation and promotion for the founding members, but simply the same mammoth clubs competing over and over again with different teams making up the numbers each year. Initially, the league was envisioned to include 20 teams, with 12 being founding members, the latter of whose places were assured in the league.
At the moment, most European football leagues operate in a pyramid style, with the best teams in lower divisions promoted to higher ones, and the worst teams relegated to lower ones. The vast majority of games are played between clubs in the same country in a league season, with teams competing with others across the continent in special European tournaments. The pinnacle of these European tournaments is the Champions League, where the best teams on the continent play a mixture of group and knock-out games (like the recent World Cup) to decide a winner.
The Super League, however, proposed to take the richest clubs (those who are usually in the Champions League anyway) and have them break away from their national leagues, so that they could benefit from a global audience who would be keen to see the very best consistently fight. The Champions League is incredibly lucrative to clubs, and not qualifying for it for a couple of years can massively impact a club’s financials, which is why owners were so keen to push for a model that meant they would never have to worry about losing that revenue stream.
Which teams were going to be involved in the Super League?
The founding members of the Super League were drawn from the U.K, Italy, and Spain, and were supposed to be Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid. These are twelve of the wealthiest clubs in the sport, with some of the largest fanbases that stretch all across the world. While their local fans are passionate and numerous, their numbers are dwarfed by fans in emerging markets, and that was who the Super League was trying to target.
What was the reaction to the announcement of the Super League?
As soon as proposals for the Super League were announced, there was immediate opposition to the idea from all sorts of stakeholders, including fan groups, national footballing organizations, and even some prominent players.
The largest complaint many had was that a Super League would alienate match-going fans as they couldn’t afford to travel around the continent to see their team play, while also decimating football league systems across all of Europe. Fan groups for clubs of all kinds, including those who were supposed to be founding members of the Super League, protested all over the continent, pointing out that this was nothing more than a cash grab from greedy owners (a criticism that Rebecca made in this week’s episode of Ted Lasso)
There were also calls to have the clubs who had signed up to the Super League be fined and even banned from competitions. UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe, warned it would enforce a ban on teams and players involved. The idea was unpopular among football fans, right-wing politicians, money-grabbing organizations, and everyone in between, and just a few days after the plans were announced, all six of the English clubs who were supposed to be involved pulled out. So, the Super League seemed dead in the water — but was it really?
Will there be a Super League in the future?
Despite the intense backlash to the idea, some of those behind the idea of the Super League still believe in it. The European Super League team even hired a new CEO, who claimed the idea would be back in “three years” or less. And, just a couple of months ago, it launched a new manifesto claiming the league would be multi-divisional (like the pyramid structure soccer fans are more used to), with promotion, relegation, and places awarded on “merit.”
Its snazzy new website has the following to say:
The Super League is a new European competition between 20 top clubs comprised of 15 founders and 5 annual qualifiers. There will be two Groups of 10 clubs each, playing home and away fixtures within the Group each year. By bringing together the best clubs and best players in the world, the Super League will deliver excitement and drama never before seen in football. Following the Group stage, 8 clubs will qualify for a knockout tournament, playing home and away until the single-match Super League championship, in a dramatic four-week end to the season.
The site also says that it expects clubs to stay in their domestic leagues, with all matches taking place midweek. This was one of the hugest barriers to the idea previously, and shows the new organizers behind the Super League are keen to work with local organizations to make it a reality. UEFA, however, play their competitions on a weekday, and as they are more deeply in bed with local Footballing Associations, it seems unlikely they’ll give up their lucrative European competitions.
There was also mention of so-called “solidarity payments,” designed to fund poorer teams in the leagues of those who compete in the Super League:
Solidarity payments will grow in line with league revenues and are expected to be in excess of €10 billion during the course of the initial commitment period of the founders. These solidarity payments will follow a new model with full transparency and regular public reporting.
For now, it seems the Super League is in hibernation at least. But, as everyone knows, money talks, and in the end it might be louder than fan protests about the soul of the game. Let’s just hope there’s more Rebeccas to stand up to the greed.