5 things we need to know about the European Super League
The European Super League is all set to become a reality as 12 of Europe's biggest clubs attempt to break away and are all set to form a league of their own in a move that could change club football as we know it.
The beautiful game is all set to undergo a mega makeover but we're not very excited to see the results. Some of Europe's top teams have agreed to break away and form a Super league where 15 founder clubs and 5 annual qualifiers will compete over the course of a season.
Currently 12 teams have signed up for it and the founding clubs have announced that three more will join before the inaugural season kicks off in August. AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Internazionale, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham are the 12 sides who have signed up as of now.
In a move that is entirely financially motivated and reeks of greed, football could depart from its roots and become an elitist establishment through the European Super League. Football fans are not happy with the news and UEFA is preparing to go to war against the clubs who have signed up.
Without further ado, let's take a look five things we need to know about the European Super League.
#1 15 founding clubs and 5 qualifiers clubs will compete and the competition kicks off in August
The main intention of the European Super League is to rival the UEFA Champions League. So far, 12 teams have agreed to break away and form the Super League. As such, UEFA and the domestic leagues could ban players from playing elsewhere altogether.
Anyway, the competition is scheduled to start in August and all matches will be played in midweek. Ultimately, the top teams in the competition will square off in the playoffs to determine the winner.
#2 The format of the European Super League
The league will have two groups comprising of 10 teams each. Each team will play all the other teams in their group twice, at home and away, during the course of the season. All matches will be played in midweek.
The top four from either group will qualify for the knockout stages. The knockout stage will start with a two-legged quarter final and will be followed by the semi-finals and the final.
The European Super League matches are to be played in midweek so as to not disrupt the domestic league season as the clubs will take part in that. The league is trying to bring together the best teams in the world to provide entertainment of the highest level.
But they're missing out on the human aspects of the game that make it so special to viewers and fans.