MILAN. “Twelve European football clubs have jointly announced today April 19 an agreement to set up a new midweek football competition, the Super League, governed by the Founding Clubs”: a note makes it official. «AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as Founding Clubs. Three other clubs are expected to join as Founding Clubs before the inaugural season, which should start as soon as possible ».
«In the future – the note reads – the Founding Clubs hope to start consultations with UEFA and FIFA in order to work together and cooperate to achieve the best possible results for the new League and for football as a whole. The creation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability of the current economic model of European football. Furthermore, for several years now, the Founding Clubs have set themselves the goal of improving the quality and intensity of current European competitions throughout each season, and to create a format that allows top clubs and their players to compete against each other. regularly”.
RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC: The note underlines that «the pandemic has highlighted the need for a strategic vision and a sustainable approach from a commercial point of view to increase value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid. In recent months, an extensive dialogue has taken place with football stakeholders regarding the future format of European competitions. The Founding Clubs believe that the measures proposed following these talks do not represent a solution to the fundamental issues, including the need to offer better quality matches and additional financial resources for the entire football pyramid ».
The format of the competition foresees «20 participating clubs of which 15 Founding Clubs and a qualification mechanism for another 5 teams, which will be selected each year based on the results achieved in the previous season; Midweek matches with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional national match schedule that will remain the heart of inter-club competitions.
SOLIDARITY CONTRIBUTIONS. »The new annual tournament will provide significantly higher economic growth – the note continues – and support for European football through a long-term commitment to pay solidarity contributions without a ceiling, which will grow in line with the league’s revenues. These solidarity contributions will be substantially higher than those generated by current European competition and are expected to exceed € 10 billion over the course of the clubs’ initial engagement period. Furthermore, the tournament will be built on a sustainable financial basis with all Founding Clubs adhering to a spending framework. In exchange for their commitment, the Founding Clubs will receive a one-off contribution of € 3.5 billion to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
REAL MADRID. Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid CF and first president of the Super League, said: «We will help football at every level and lead it to occupy the rightful place in the world. Football is the only truly global sport with more than four billion fans and the responsibility of us big clubs is to respond to their wishes ».
JUVENTUS. Supporting the new European league, Andrea Agnelli, president of Juventus and vice-president of the Super League, said: «The 12 Founding Clubs have a fan base that exceeds one billion people worldwide and a palmares of 99 trophies on a continental level. At this critical moment we have come together to enable the transformation of European competition, putting the game we love on a long-term sustainable development path, with a greatly increased solidarity mechanism, guaranteeing fans and enthusiasts a match program that knows how to nourish. their desire for football and, at the same time, provide a positive and engaging example ».
MANCHESTER UTD. Joel Glazer, co-chairman of Manchester United and vice president of the Super League, added: “By bringing together the greatest clubs and players in the world to compete throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring a world-class competition and structures, as well as increased financial support for the football pyramid as a whole ».
FIFA ANSWER. Fifa “can only express its disapproval of a ‘European separatist league that will be closed outside the international football structures”: the International Football Federation affirms this, commenting on the decision of 12 top-class European clubs to set up a new football competition, the Super League. “Any football competition, national, regional or global, should always reflect the fundamental principles of solidarity, inclusiveness, integrity and fair financial redistribution”, adds the note from FIFA, principles that the new initiative, in his opinion, “does not respect”.
“In light of the numerous requests from the media and as already stated several times – reads the note from the Federation – FIFA wishes to clarify that it remains firmly in favor of solidarity football and a model of equitable redistribution of resources that can help develop the football as a sport, particularly on a global level, given that the development of global football is Fifa’s primary mission ».
«In our opinion, and in accordance with our statutes, any football competition, national, regional or global, should always reflect the fundamental principles of solidarity, inclusiveness, integrity and fair financial redistribution. Furthermore, the governing bodies of football – adds the Federation – should employ all legal, sporting and diplomatic means to ensure that it remains so. In this context, FIFA can only express its disapproval of a ‘European separatist league closed outside the international football structures and which does not respect the principles mentioned above ”.
«Fifa is always synonymous with unity in world football – he concludes – and invites all parties involved in heated discussions to engage in a calm, constructive and balanced dialogue for the good of the game and in the spirit of solidarity and fairness. Fifa, of course, will do everything necessary to contribute to a harmonious path towards the future in the interest of football ».
CEFERIN AND THE NO OF UEFA. The creation of the Super League is “a horrible proposition” of a few clubs “driven by greed”. This was stated by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. «I can only underline that Uefa and football are united against this horrible proposal that has been put forward by a few European clubs that follow only the idea of greed – his words -. We are all united against this meaningless project. The Super League thinks only of greed and money, I would not like to call it the dirty dozen but it is the interest of only 12 clubs, we think of all football ».
THE 12 ON THE FOOT OF WAR. The 12 clubs adhering to the Super League already have a legal response ready to the threat of a lawsuit for damages advanced by UEFA. According to Le Parisien, the clubs have sent a letter to the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, and to that of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, in which they warn them that they have filed their ‘dossier’ with various courts, without specifying which ones and with what contents (HANDLE).