So will it be SUPER sized or sold short?

The man tasked with selling the controversial new European Super League plan to the masses insists domestic football will benefit... not just the giants

PLANS for a European Super League back in 2021 collapsed inside 48 hours after a global outcry by politicians, pundits and fans. Despite the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool walking away, proposals for a new 60-80 team Super League incorporating three divisions, promotion and relegation and a minimum of 14 games a season are back on the agenda.

Hinging on the outcome of a legal judgment later this year, competition CEO BERND REICHART tells STEPHEN McGOWAN why the UEFA Champions League has had its day.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY WITH THE SUPER LEAGUE?

We have to explain ourselves better. The initiative which started two years ago is very conscious of the necessity to explain their intentions and why there is a need for reforms and why it is important to not be complacent when it comes to the situation with European club football.

We changed some key aspects of the initial project and it continues to shape itself. It is adapting to the legal environment and also to the feedback we received from stakeholders and clubs. We are happy to adopt that and reach out to clubs, players and politicians and journalists to understand whether our analysis of European club football is shared and whether the solutions we propose are adequate.

Our underlying hope is that we come to a place where everybody is free to propose and discuss reforms and new forms of competition.

Our proposal is not exclusive, it’s inclusive. At some stage we will present our proposals once we have some kind of legal certainty.

HOW MANY CLUBS HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO NOW?

We have spoken to a number of stakeholders. Clubs are the stakeholders we have spoken to most in a broad range of territories. Mainly I spoke to clubs in Germany, I must admit, because I know them and it was easy for me to access. But we also spoke to leagues, agents, politicians in Brussels and in different European countries. I have spoken to players and fans’ organisations to get our heads around how we have to adapt.

One of the clear communications was that people want an open competition, we abandoned the idea of permanent membership. We want to honour sporting merit.

But we also have clear suggestions on ways to build the game for a number of European clubs who are not seeing their European path being as open or as bright as it could be.

THE IDEA SEEMS TO HAVE EVOLVED FROM THE FIRST TIME ROUND?

We are talking about a strong European footprint with a number of games in a league structure with different divisions, which does not compete with the domestic leagues.

We are talking about a midweek competition where you continue to qualify via your performance in domestic competition.

These are the commitments we need to communicate in order for people to understand where we are heading.

There is a pretty broad consensus that football is not heading in a good direction.

THERE HAS BEEN HOSTILITY TO THIS PROJECT FROM CLUBS, SUPPORTERS, EVEN THE UK GOVERNMENT. CAN YOU MOVE THE DIAL ON THAT?

The sense of urgency has evolved in the last two years. A number of domestic leagues say: ‘It’s tough for us to compete in Europe with the dynamics we have currently’. But if we have a competition legally backed and validated, complimentary to the domestic leagues and open and meritocratic and playing midweek games as an alternative to the UEFA club competitions, why shouldn’t any club at least look at it and consider it and find out what this could mean for their club.

DO YOU ACCEPT MISTAKES WERE MADE IN 2021?

Yes. When I boarded this project last summer I was clearly able to confirm that there is an acceptance of the need to evolve and adapt our proposition.

I have been critical of the way the initial attempt was communicated. But, in essence, it was always more than the format for a few top tier clubs.

From the beginning, it included strong financial fair play proposals, it carried a commitment to promotion of women’s football and more than doubling what UEFA spends on solidarity payments down the pyramid.

The central angle of criticism was sporting merit. That’s the most important adjustment our 10 principles made.

WHAT CLUBS DO A22 REPRESENT NOW?

A22 is a sports promotion agency acting as a consultant to the European Super League Company. The European Super League Company was constituted by the 12 clubs who promoted the proposal two years ago.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE TEAMS SPENT £815M IN JANUARY — MORE THAN THE OTHER TOP FIVE LEAGUES COMBINED. ISN’T THERE A SUPER LEAGUE ALREADY IN OPERATION?

What traditional European top clubs have to ask is whether they are still competing for the best talent and the best players. Either you assume that they will play in the EPL or you try to gain some competitiveness again.

How do you do that? By working on different aspects of your financial stability. Why do we have to assume that with all these strong, traditional brands of clubs that we cannot set up a competition as attractive and appealing globally as the English Premier League?

We can have an attractive exciting European competition where we have intense competition between the best European clubs. That’s a healthy ambition to pursue and we believe the current and future model of the Champions League is not delivering on that promise.

The competition only starts to be attractive now, in March. We believe an alternative competition could deliver more.

IS THIS REALLY BETTER THAN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE? NOT EVERYONE THINKS SO.

Well, if you look at the number of matches you have access to there is an important difference. A league structure with promotion and relegation have a minimum of 14 matches from year one. It’s something they can build on, something they can invest in. A chance to be aggressive with building a squad for a new adventure. In the current system it is not giving clubs a solid, predictable path because it can be over after six matches and you are out.

Clubs like Ajax and Villarreal have reached the semi-final of the Champions League and have to sell all their best players because they didn’t qualify the next year.

Clubs can look at our alternative proposals and either like them or not like them. Right now we’re not even allowed to make proposals. There should be freedom to break out of the UEFA monopoly making the rules.

THE SCOTTISH LEAGUE HAS BEEN WON BY CELTIC OR RANGERS FOR THE LAST 38 YEARS. HOW DOES SUPER LEAGUE HELP ADDRESS THAT COMPETITIVE IMBALANCE?

There are clubs who say that the current model is driving domestic polarisation.

Bayern Munich is so far ahead of the others because, together with Borussia Dortmund, they are the only club that can count on Champions League participation year after year.

That widens the gap because every other team can’t budget for Champions League qualification.

If there is more than just the top club being able to build and rely on European participation then I think that could re-energise the competitive structure within domestic leagues like Scotland.

We also have a commitment to more solidarity money than UEFA pay going into the leagues. There has to be a bigger solidarity component than there is today to benefit the bottom of the pyramid and grassroots football.

Those numbers will be almost three times higher than the sums paid by UEFA.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR TEAMS LIKE CELTIC AND RANGERS OR AJAX AND ANDERLECHT IF THE UEFA STATUS QUO REMAINS?

They will be locked in their domestic leagues. There might be attempts to merge leagues, an idea which is never actually executed because it is against the UEFA model.

It’s difficult to see them, with the size of their domestic league compared to the English Premier League, being competitive.

We will see more and more clubs selling their best players at an early stage to Premier League clubs. And not only to the top Premier League clubs, but to lower end Premier League clubs. This will be the new normal.

We see more and more teams across Europe providing the Premier League with the best talent.

You can either accept that or you can attempt to give new value to what traditional European teams are about and learn from the EPL how to provide exciting, competitive matches. Far more than the Champions League is doing now.

SPANISH LEAGUE CHIEF JAVIER TEBAS CALLS THE SUPER LEAGUE ‘THE WOLF WHICH DISGUISES ITSELF AS A GRANNY TO TRY TO FOOL EUROPEAN FOOTBALL, BUT ITS NOSE AND TEETH ARE VERY BIG?’

(Laughing) It’s hard for me to comment on that. There is so much room for just an honest and open debate on whether more European football would automatically be negative for domestic leagues. I don’t see that.

I think domestic leagues will benefit from their clubs coming back from midweek European adventures stronger and bigger and I believe that such a new competition can create additional value.

It’s not a zero-sum game. I like Javier Tebas making our argument that he believes European club competition can be bigger and more attractive and generate more revenue. Thank you to him for that. I agree. But it doesn’t have to be to the detriment of domestic leagues.

We are committed to sharing in a superior solidarity scheme where everybody benefits from a stronger version of club football. That’s what people want to see.