Arsenal,
Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham have
agreed to join a breakaway European Super League.
The new format has been put forward as a rival to the UEFA Champions League,
but not as a replacement to domestic leagues.
The six Premier League clubs will be joined by AC Milan, Atletico Madrid,
Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid. Three more clubs could
join for the inaugural season which will commence "as soon as practicable".
A statement read: "Twelve of Europe's leading football clubs have today come
together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week
competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.
"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. It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead
of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as
practicable.
"Going forward, the Founding Clubs look forward to holding discussions with
UEFA and FIFA to work together in partnership to deliver the best outcomes
for the new League and for football as a whole.
"The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic
has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic
model.
"Further, for a number of years, the Founding Clubs have had the objective
of improving the quality and intensity of existing European competitions
throughout each season, and of creating a format for top clubs and players
to compete on a regular basis.
"The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial
approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the
entire European football pyramid.
"In recent months extensive dialogue has taken place with football
stakeholders regarding the future format of European competitions. The
Founding Clubs believe the solutions proposed following these talks do not
solve fundamental issues, including the need to provide higher quality
matches and additional financial resources for the overall football
pyramid."
Sky Sports News has contacted the six Premier League clubs for comment;
Manchester United and Tottenham declined to give a response regarding the
proposals.
Competition Format
- 20 participating clubs with 15 Founding Clubs and a qualifying
mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually based on achievements
in the prior season.
- Midweek fixtures with all participating clubs continuing to compete
in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional domestic
match calendar which remains at the heart of the club game.
- An August start with clubs participating in two groups of ten,
playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group
automatically qualifying for the quarter-finals.
- Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged
play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions. A two-leg knockout
format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be
staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.
Florentino Perez, President of Real Madrid and the first Chairman of the
Super League said: "We will help football at every level and take it to its
rightful place in the world. Football is the only global sport in the world
with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to
respond to their desires."
Backing the new European league, Andrea Agnelli, Chairman of Juventus and
Vice-Chairman of the Super League said: "Our 12 Founder Clubs represent
billions of fans across the globe and 99 European trophies.
"We have come together at this critical moment, enabling European
competition to be transformed, putting the game we love on a sustainable
footing for the long-term future, substantially increasing solidarity, and
giving fans and amateur players a regular flow of headline fixtures that
will feed their passion for the game while providing them with engaging role
models."
Joel Glazer, Co-Chairman of Manchester United and Vice-Chairman of the Super
League said: "By bringing together the world's greatest clubs and players to
play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new
chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and
facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid."
The agreement comes on the eve of plans to introduce a new format for the
Champions League. UEFA has put forward changes to increase the number of
competing teams in Europe's top club knockout competition from 32 to 36.
The proposed amendments also include an overhaul of the group stage into a
single table, as opposed to the current groups of four clubs, with teams
playing ten matches each, and a play-off round introduced before the last-16
phase.
The alterations will be decided upon at UEFA's executive committee on Monday
morning, with top officials at the governing body set to meet in
Switzerland.
FIFA has criticised the creation of a new breakaway League, stating that the
move is not in accordance with the governing body's values, adding that it
will do "whatever is necessary to contribute to a harmonised way forward".
A FIFA statement read: "In view of several media requests and as already
stated several times, FIFA wishes to clarify that it stands firm in favour
of solidarity in football and an equitable redistribution model which can
help develop football as a sport, particularly at global level, since the
development of global football is the primary mission of FIFA.
"In our view, and in accordance with our statutes, any football competition,
whether national, regional or global, should always reflect the core
principles of solidarity, inclusivity, integrity and equitable financial
redistribution.
"Moreover, the governing bodies of football should employ all lawful,
sporting and diplomatic means to ensure this remains the case.
"Against this background, FIFA can only express its disapproval to a "closed
European breakaway league" outside of the international football structures
and not respecting the aforementioned principles.
"FIFA always stands for unity in world football and calls on all parties
involved in heated discussions to engage in calm, constructive and balanced
dialogue for the good of the game and in the spirit of solidarity and fair
play.
"FIFA will, of course, do whatever is necessary to contribute to a
harmonised way forward in the overall interests of football."
A statement from the ECA, (European Club Association), released on Sunday
evening, said it "strongly opposed" the "closed Super League model" which
has been reported on. The organisation has made clear its desire to work
with UEFA on amending the structure of European club football from 2024
onwards.
There have been reports of a plan for a breakaway league for a number of
years and the speculation returned in January with several media reports
that a document had been produced outlining the plans for a 20-team league.
The Premier League, and the organisation's CEO Richard Masters, have
condemned the European Super League concept, and Masters has written to all
20 clubs to indicate the League's opposition to the project.
"We do not and cannot support such a concept," Masters' memo read.
Under Premier League rules, which all clubs sign up to, a club needs "prior
written approval" from the Premier League Board to enter another competition
not including the Champions League, Europa League, EFL Cup, FA Cup,
Community Shield, or competitions sanctioned by the county association of
which it is a member.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Oliver Dowden, DCMS (Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) secretary, condemned the plans, with
Johnson tweeting that the breakaway League would be "very damaging for
football". Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has said it "risks shutting the
door on fans for good".
The EU Parliament Sports Group - which represents 125 MEPs - has criticised
the proposed League, saying that the proposals have "no other purpose than
making profit".
The FA has not ruled out taking legal action over the proposals and have
indicated they will block any requests from teams to join such a league.
The PFA, the Football Supporters' Association, a number of supporters'
clubs, and prominent figures in the game, including former Manchester United
manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Sky Sports' Gary Neville, have voiced their
disapproval of the project.
Earlier on Sunday, UEFA released a joint statement, personally sanctioned by
the governing body's president Aleksander Ceferin, with the FA, Premier
League, La Liga, and Serie A, as well as the Spanish and Italian football
federations, which blasted the plans.
UEFA stressed that Europe's top national football governing bodies and
leagues will remain united in opposing the "cynical" initiative, and will
use all methods available to them, including legal action, to prevent the
scheme from being put into practice.
European football's governing body has also said clubs involved will be
prevented from competing in "domestic, European or world level" competitions
and that players may be stopped from representing their countries.
Meanwhile, UEFA praised sides in France and Germany for not agreeing to join
the European Super League.
"Every club and player participating in the Super League could be banned
from all UEFA and FIFA competitions, European or International level", UEFA
said.
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