As of: February 8, 2024, 2:22 p.m
By: Philipp Kessler
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Harry Kane (left) and Bayern are still playing in the Champions League.
© Dave Thompson/AP
The Super League continues to polarize.
Boss Bernd Reichart explains in the tz interview how the drivers of the sports marketing agency A22 want to convince clubs and fans.
Munich - withdrawal of some founding members, massive fan protests, court rulings - there has been a huge fuss about the Super League since 2021.
Nevertheless, the drivers of the sports marketing agency A22 are optimistic.
Managing director Bernd Reichart (49), former CEO of the RTL Group, explains in the
tz
interview how they want to inspire clubs and supporters to take part in the alternative competition to the Champions League.
Mr. Reichart, when does the Super League finally start?
We're making very good progress, but we're not setting ourselves a deadline.
Because we still have a lot to do, we continue to work and do persuasive work.
The Super League is an offer to clubs, fans and stakeholders in football and they help us to optimize our proposal.
The ECJ ruling takes away the fear for clubs to think about their own future in a self-determined manner.
Because if things continue as they are, European club football will lose its previously undisputed role as number one in global sport.
Driving the plans for a Super League in football: Bernd Reichart.
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
In December, the European Court of Justice ruled in the final instance that FIFA and UEFA cannot generally make other competitions dependent on their approval and cannot prohibit clubs and players from taking part in them.
The clubs now have the opportunity to discuss alternative competition in a self-determined manner - without having to worry about threats or sanctions that threaten their existence.
That was the central means by which UEFA took action against the clubs and players who wanted to take part in the Super League in April 2021.
Nevertheless, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin recently said: “This is a non-project. A thing that will never happen because no one wants it.” What do you say to that?
We can easily put up with his taunts.
Of course we understand that UEFA wants to protect its privileges and position of power.
However, the ECJ has said that FIFA and UEFA are no longer allowed to exploit their dominant market position.
The fact is: UEFA manages an activity in which the clubs bear the full risk.
UEFA itself, on the other hand, has no costs, only revenue and no competition.
A unique situation full of conflicts of interest, which are also a thorn in the side of the court, as the judgment underlines.
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Italian media are reporting that UEFA could now face claims for damages of up to three billion because it illegally prevented the Super League. Are you suing UEFA now?
I don't want to speculate publicly about legal matters.
Considering that Ceferin believes that the Super League won't happen, he talks about it surprisingly often.
He will also know that it is an attractive alternative for clubs.
Bernd Reichart
The fact is: Despite the ECJ ruling, Ceferin is apparently very sure of his case.
Considering that he believes that the Super League won't happen, he talks about it surprisingly often.
He will also know that it is an attractive alternative for clubs.
For example, there are enough large clubs from small leagues for whom the Champions League does not offer any European prospects and are therefore dependent on the low income from the national league.
As a result, they lose their international competitiveness and connection, especially with clubs in the English Premier League.
The Super League would give them the opportunity to get back on track at European level.
In what way?
A league system offers clubs a better economic basis and access to a European football market. Europe is ready and deserves a European league with promotion and relegation, the principle of merit and linked to the national leagues.
That is our vision.
As of now, the Super League is set to be an open format with the 64 best European clubs in three leagues, between which teams can be promoted and relegated. What feedback have you received from the clubs so far?
We know that many clubs agree with us that football is going in the wrong direction, has a governance problem at association level and needs reform.
Many can also agree with our point that a league structure brings more economic stability.
Knowing at the beginning of the season that you have 14 games at European level and possibly playoffs makes for more predictable income.
We will also specify the associated revenue models in the next few months.
We take this time – because we want to convince people and not surprise them.
Of the initial twelve teams that wanted to take part in the Super League, only two remain, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Why not any more?
It may appear that way to the public.
But we are talking to a lot of clubs and some of them are certainly more motivated to take part in our project than their public statements suggest.
There are some clubs that have asked us: Can we help you by saying how open we are to the Super League initiative?
But we are still cautious ourselves.
We don't want to draw a line in the sand and divide football into two camps.
We want to seek dialogue.
Our model is still open: If clubs have further suggestions, we can still incorporate them into our plans.
Why is the Super League better than the Champions League?
A main problem with the Champions League is the high proportion of games that have no consequences for the outcome of the competition.
For example, if the already determined group winner meets an opponent who no longer has a chance of progressing.
With these games, football is losing its fans.
We cannot accept that.
The Super League is planned in such a way that there are intensely competitive games between teams that are on equal terms from the first to the last match day.
That would be a huge step forward.
The new Champions League from 2024/25 is by no means a solution: it just produces more games, not more attractive ones.
Does this mean the Super League participants have an English week every week? The burden is already extremely high.
We will of course respect the clubs' calendar.
Clubs are the ones most worried about the health of their players.
The current calendar is already packed enough.
We would also use the matchdays that UEFA currently hosts in our competition.
We wouldn't be able to manage any more game days.
Can Super League and Champions League coexist?
No.
The Super League is designed as an alternative European competition.
Should UEFA be afraid of the Super League?
UEFA doesn't have to be afraid, it just has to comply with European law.
And she has to slowly get used to the fact that she no longer has a monopoly over European club football.
FC Bayern has openly spoken out against participating in the Super League. When will the people of Munich fall over?
You have to ask FC Bayern that.
It is interesting that the statements that have been made so far have actually always referred to the old Super League and its model from April 2021.
That has now changed and developed further.
The proposal from back then, perhaps not unjustly, received a lot of criticism for the fact that there should be permanent members.
There is no such thing in our new proposal.
We think that is correct.
We propose a competition that is open, meritocratic and exciting for fans from the first to the last matchday.
The German record champions would of course be an important part of the Super League.
Bernd Reichart
How important would it be for the Super League that FC Bayern were there?
It depends on every top European club – and Bayern are definitely one of them.
The German record champions would of course be an important part of the Super League.
After the first plans for the Super League became public, many fans came up against it. How do you plan to get the supporters behind you?
I think the perception of the Super League has changed a lot.
Football is getting out of hand and the level playing field in Europe needs to be restored.
With strong financial fair play and, above all, stricter enforcement of violations of it.
And we are making an offer to fans that appeals particularly to younger generations who are currently turning away: We show every game for free on a digital streaming platform that corresponds to current usage habits.
We have to make football accessible to everyone again.
We lose fans if we hide football behind expensive subscriptions.
Fans can watch all Super League games for free
How do you want to promise the clubs high income if TV money stops?
The revenue does not go away.
Even today, football is mainly financed through two business models: advertising and subscriptions.
A much more attractive European competition can mobilize so many viewers worldwide that it is extremely attractive to advertisers.
At the same time, we want to offer fans attractive premium features in addition to free access.
These would be available with a subscription.
Our Unify platform also offers clubs many new options.
Which?
It is incredibly attractive for clubs to know who their fans around the world are and then to communicate with them.
Leagues and clubs want and need to become more digital and international.
Unify is the right platform for this.
So far, clubs simply don't know who their global fans are.
In addition, the freely accessible signal also puts a stop to piracy.
Fans fear increasing financial inequality between teams. In their eyes, the domestic leagues will also be devalued by a Super League. How would you like to solve this problem?
Our competition would take place during the week.
The national leagues are unaffected.
If the Super League competitions manage to strengthen as many teams in Europe as possible with a second pillar, that can only be an advantage for the national league.
We are currently observing the phenomenon that the Champions League produces long-term champions.
Because it is always only the very best clubs that can rely on income from Europe.
Even the challengers to the permanent champions cannot plan financially with European income.
If more clubs had more stability thanks to long-term participation in a European league competition, more exciting championship battles would also arise.
This all sounds too good to be true. Aren't you afraid that UEFA will soon copy your suggestions?
This has already happened to some extent.
If you analyze the Super League 2021 proposal and now put UEFA's Financial Sustainability Rules next to it, you will find a lot of agreement.
We just want football to not get stuck in its problems, but rather to discuss and implement proposed solutions.
UEFA must not stand in the way of its own interests.
Interview: Philipp Kessler