UEFA and several representatives of European clubs, leagues, players and supporters on Tuesday opposed a new front of refusal to a private Super League, a project which fell apart last year and which a new company is trying to resuscitate.
“The opposition to the self-proclaimed “Super League” remains overwhelming, today as since April 2021”, assures the European body in a press release, supported by a separate text but formulated almost in the same terms by the powerful European Association. clubs (ECA).
The official structures of European football therefore remain "attached to the foundations" of continental sport, i.e. the "openness" of competitions, financial "solidarity" and "meritocracy", incompatible with a private tournament reserved for a handful of wealthy clubs, continues UEFA.
UEFA and the European football community were united in defending the inclusive European sports model - based on openness, solidarity and meritocracy - when they met in Nyon today with the private agency that promotes the self-styled Super League.
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— UEFA (@UEFA) November 8, 2022
The body based in Nyon also claims the "unanimous support of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe", as well as "the massive support of national governments", echoing the battle of April 2021 which had almost imploded European football.
Requested by A22 Sports Management, a structure launched in mid-October which intends to open a dialogue on the future of club football, a meeting this Tuesday at UEFA headquarters turned into a show of force.
Faced with the three representatives of this promoting company, led by the German Bernd Reichart, UEFA had invited emissaries from the ECA, the five largest championships, the players' union FIFPro and the Football Supporters Europe association.
Juventus Turin, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in favor of the Super League
"Clearly, the representatives of A22 were surprised by the number of people present, and they were massacred for two hours", giving "the impression of improvising" on the seriousness of their project, reports a witness present during the discussions, under the seal of anonymity.
While three of the twelve clubs that tried to secede last year are still campaigning for a Super League - Juventus Turin, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona - A22 claims not to represent anyone and simply want to "reform football".
"What we retain from the meeting is that the status quo is satisfactory for UEFA", declared Bernd Reichart in a press release, recalling that the "monopolistic" position of the body was currently the issue of a procedure before the Court of Justice of the European Union, which will deliver its decision in early 2023.
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