Does Europe need a Super League to replace the Champions League?
Murmurings of a proposal for a European Super League have made the rounds in the news for a while. While nothing concrete has come out of it yet, the question of a new ‘Super League’ to replace the (soon to be erstwhile?) Champions League which is slowly turning into a drab product as domestic league fixtures garner more eyeballs than a group stage game on a midweek night.
So will a Super League alter the European football scene? And will it ever become a reality?
The Premier League was born from the idea for a ‘Super League’
The idea for a Super League is not new in football. The Premier League itself was born out of a need for the top clubs in England to break away from an archaic system that simply did not move with the times and match up to their lofty ambitions of making a global product.
The first rumblings of the breakaway league were felt as far back as the late 1980s. With English clubs banned from European competition thanks to the Heysel Stadium disaster, English football was in dire need of something to make it competitive. Italian and Spanish football were far more lucrative destinations compared to England thanks to new and improved stadiums which saw an increase in matchday revenue.
10 clubs then came together to bandy about an idea of a ‘Super League’. Heavyweights of the time such as Manchester United and Liverpool were in on it apart from Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and others. They almost signed a £32m deal with ITV before they were persuaded to stay in the English top flight.
But revenues soon improved and the idea was back on the table in 1991. This time, there was no stopping them and the Premier League was born – a league that had broken the shackles that had imprisoned it in the hierarchy of the Football League and allowed it to negotiate its own broadcast deals and sign their own sponsors – all with the goal of competing in Europe again.
104 years of history was brushed aside as clubs resigned from the Football League en masse. Promotion and relegation still formed the basis of the hierarchical system in England but Premier League clubs enjoyed their own freedom, thanks in part to the Football Association who gave the league its blessings.
There is no question that the Premier League has since gone from strength to strength in the past two-and-a-half decades. And as it enters its 25th season, the mammoth £5.136 billion television deal ensures each club is rewarded simply for participation due to the equal revenue sharing structure.
Why a European Super League is justified
The European Club Association (ECA), which represents over 200 clubs in the continent, made the suggestion that the top clubs in Europe should get a direct entry into the Champions League group stages because it was such a lucrative option for all parties involved.
There is no question that the top clubs in Europe will always get a higher matchday revenue thanks to bigger stadiums, higher ticket prices and worldwide popularity compared to the relatively smaller clubs that make up the 32 teams in the Champions League group stage that go a long way in negotiating for a bigger slice of the revenue.
“We're starting the review process of the Champions League to see with UEFA which improvements we can bring to have the most attractive football product.
“This is a process that will last six to nine months maximum.” – ECA vice-chairman Umberto Gandini
The current format requires teams to qualify for the Champions League by virtue of their position in the league table of their country’s top division. But despite the UEFA coefficients ensuring that bigger leagues are rewarded with more clubs being allowed to qualify, recent years have shown that there is a significant gap between even the midtable clubs that fail to qualify from one league and the champions that do from another league.
With all due respect to these smaller clubs that do qualify, this has become basis for the formation of the so-called European Super League. The top clubs know that the big fish will always be a catch and the group stages have sometimes been an exercise in futility with the top two clubs invariably going through – barring a capitulation (a la United under Louis van Gaal in 2015).
Case in point: Manchester United
For example, Manchester United missed out on a Champions League qualifying spot after finishing fifth last season. But with European football now such a worldwide phenomenon, would fans rather watch the Red Devils or smaller clubs such as Legia Warsaw or Ludogorets Razgrad in the group stage?
While United getting eliminated in the group stage last season was a moment to pour scorn on Van Gaal’s philosophy, it proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Europa League. The second-tier competition saw a spike in its popularity and television ratings as the Red Devils struggled to get past lowly FC Midtjylland before bowing out to Liverpool.
With the reset button pushed at the start of this season, United now look like worthy title contenders and it remains to be seen if Jose Mourinho will take the Europa League seriously. His ultimate goal, as is the club’s, is the Champions League – a title he can only compete for next season.
But were there a European Super League, their participation would not have been in question.
But what about the ‘smaller clubs’?
Was that question asked when the Premier League was formed? Yes. Did it make a difference? Absolutely not.
While the Champions League has its own rich history and magnetism that draws fans towards it on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the organisation that is UEFA has not exactly won itself many favours. Unnecessary fines and bans have taken precedence over tackling real issues that plague the competition such as racism and questionable decision-making by the referees.
What UEFA fail to understand is that it is the top clubs that make the Champions League a lucrative property. Most big clubs seem to have come to the same conclusion.
Many have come out and stated outright that they are opposed to a breakaway, but the signs are there. All it needs is someone to ignite the debate again and an organisation with the resources to make it happen.
This would leave the smaller clubs in the lurch. But it would make no difference to those who already compete in the Europa League. The rewards that come with the punishing schedule of the Europa League are far less than that of its bigger sibling; the Champions League. Only the select few who make it to the final 32 – but are not heavyweights in the eyes of Europe – would struggle at first before they, too, slip into the mediocrity of the Europa League.
UEFA have already discussed the possibility of allowing the top four teams from England, Spain, Germany and Italy to qualify automatically. But ultimately, money will talk.
The Premier League has proved that as clubs in other leagues also look to replicate the same system to ensure that every club gets a healthy slice of the revenue, thereby making the league more competitive. It’s only a question of when the same system will be applied to Europe’s premier competition as the top clubs hold UEFA to ransom and get their way.