European Super League: Star, Gold and Blue tiers, free-to-air on ‘Unify’ and more A22 ideas… | OneFootball

The European Super League is back...

It hasn’t taken long for the all new European Super League to be announced, with sports development company A22 revealing their plans for the competition hours after UEFA and FIFA were given the finger by the European Court of Justice.

It was ruled that the football ruling bodies had contravened EU law by preventing the formation of a Super League in April 2021. But it’s been on the backburner rather than in the bin, and in music to the ears of Real Madrid and Barcelona in particular, “the UEFA monopoly is over”.

“From today the clubs will be the masters of their destiny” said Madrid president and James Bond baddie Florentino Perez as “law, reason and freedom prevail”.

Barcelona, meanwhile, feel the verdict “paves the way for a new elite level football competition in Europe by opposing the monopoly over the football world”, namedropping A22 – whom we’re all going to be hearing a hell of a lot about in the coming days, weeks and months – shortly before the sports management company revealed the plans for the new competition.

Key elements of the new format include:

– 64 teams in three leagues: Star League and Gold League as the top two tiers consisting of 16 clubs each and Blue League comprised of 32 clubs.

– Participation based on sporting merit with no permanent members

– Annual promotion and relegation between leagues. Promotion into Blue League based on domestic league performance.

– Home and away games in groups eight, meaning a minimum of 14 matches per year.

– A knockout stage will determine champions of each league and promotion.

– Mid-week matches to compete with current UEFA competitions, not interfering with domestic league calendars.

– Clubs will be selected for the inaugural season based on an index of transparent performance-based criteria.

– Strong Financial Sustainability rules will be in place to ensure a level playing field.

– The women’s competition will run alongside the men’s and will feature the Star and Gold Leagues only.

– Games will be available to watch for free on a new streaming platform called Unify.

That last point feels as though it will be particularly poignant for football fans, who are having to fork out more and more to watch games across multiple platforms, and A22 laboured over what they clearly feel could be the revolutionary aspect of the proposal that will get people on side.

A22 says: “Unify is our proposal for a state-of-the-art digital streaming platform. It will democratise football by allowing fans everywhere to watch new European Super League games for free.

“Unify has the potential to be the leading direct-to-fan sports streaming platform in the world, bringing billions of fans closer to the game than ever before. In addition to live matches, the platform will offer highlights, match insights and analysis, club-specific content, and many other interactive options. It will allow fans to connect as never before with their favourite clubs and players as well as with friends and fan communities.

“All men’s and women’s league matches would be distributed side by side, taking “centre stage” on the platform. With Unify, the women’s game would finally have the global platform it deserves.

“The Unify Platform will offer a tiered model. The advertising-supported free tier will allow fans to watch live new European Super League matches for free. Subscription tiers would also be offered for those who prefer to view matches with minimal advertising while enjoying advanced features such as favourite camera angles, live match data and other interactive options. Distribution partnerships with broadcasters, streaming services, clubs and content providers will also be an important component of the Unify experience to ensure ease of access for fans.”

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez welcomes the European Super League resolution.

What does this all mean for Premier League clubs? Very little – they won’t be able to join as things stand.

The UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport released a statement that indicated a bill about to pass into law, which sets up a new independent football regulator, would make it illegal for British clubs to join a breakaway league.

“The attempt to create a breakaway competition was a defining moment in English football and was universally condemned by fans, clubs and the Government,” said a DCMS spokesperson.

“We took decisive action at the time by triggering the fan-led review of football governance, which called for the creation of a new independent regulator for English football. We will shortly be bringing forward legislation that makes this a reality, and will stop clubs from joining any similar breakaway competitions in the future.”

The UK is no longer bound by EU law since Brexit, so clubs would not be able to appeal to the European Court of Justice.

In any case, prepare yourselves folks, because this looks set to be a period of festive European Super League chat, after Christmas came early for A22 and the two Spanish football giants throwing their weight behind them.