For the founding clubs, the Super League was a great idea that will save the financial fortunes of some clubs, but other clubs and fans around the world saw it as an act of greed, and was widely opposed.
The fans made their voices heard over the past two days against the idea of a European Super League limited to just elite clubs.
The controversial project unraveled on Tuesday after most of the 12 teams involved, starting with Chelsea, began to pull out two days after the announcement much to UEFA’s shock.
The plan unleashed widespread condemnation from fans and Europe’s soccer governing body who threatened sanctions against the clubs.
Opinion: European Super League exposes the hypocrisy in the football world
Those sanctions would have included banning them from domestic competitions, with support from various national football associations, and even the upcoming Champions League semifinals.
UEFA indeed thwarted the effort with its tough talks, but it was fans across England and much of Europe, who made their voices heard against the greedy plan.
In what amounted to an existential crisis for the world’s most popular sport since Sunday, the reality is the ESL never had a shot.
ESL Goes Against Everything Football Stands For
Football is for the fans, not for the rich to get richer, and not all about money. Football is about passion, love, suspense, surprises, and the underdog stories. The formation of the ESL goes against all of that.
Assuming the Super League had taken off, the game as we know it would have been forever destroyed.
What these greedy club owners didn’t bank on was the history, tradition, and power of the fans that make up these clubs.
Football doesn’t work this way. The owners of these mega-wealthy teams, many of whom are Americans, are so far removed from the tradition, history, and the fans that they didn’t realize what their decision would unleash.
The revenue-sharing agreements tied to TV rights make it so that the rich clubs, with their star players and popularity, can help mid-tier and lower level teams survive.
It helped that other Premier League teams took to the field over the last few days protesting such a move.
The Super League aimed to wall off the world’s best teams and make it so that all the money would go to them. The hell with everyone else. But, at the end of the day, it was the fans and the game that won; for now.
UEFA is indeed a monopoly and they have their faults. Nonetheless, the big teams need to work within the framework already put in place.
Instead of dominating the Champions League with results on the field, they decided to take their ball and create their own competition.
The Stance Of Other European Giants
Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund were the clubs earmarked for the other three permanent spots in the Super League but refuted the allures of the Super League claiming they do not want any part of it.
Bayern Munich is the defending European champion, and feel this new idea will destroy the foundation of football as we know it.
“I don’t think the Super League is going to solve the economic problems of the European Clubs which have been caused by the coronavirus,” Karl-Heinz Rummenigge explained.
“Rather, all clubs in Europe should work in solidarity to guarantee that cost structure.”
After the trio of European giants turned the offer down, the project was always going to be difficult to get off the ground. The rejections of Napoli and Roma to join the party soon after also dealt a damaging blow to the plotters.
Time To Rebuild Football
For a while, it has been one issue to the other in the footballing world. Racism, match-fixing, VAR, etc but Football needs to continue with unity and we have to build it together.
We see injustices within our game on a daily. Racism treated with not so much as a slap on the wrist, corruption shrugged off with a paltry ban, and systemic abuse of our young deemed barely newsworthy.
Now, the European Super League is one the fans have come in on with one voice to stand against and won, this shows all hope is not lost. This is the chance to shape the future of our game which we cannot let slip.
As fans, we must act and continue to force ourselves to the top of the table and make our stance never to lose our value and voices.
