The ruling hit the football business like a bomb at the end of last year: The European Court of Justice ruled that the previous monopoly position of the European Football Union (UEFA) violated competition law. A business model worth billions is thus faltering: UEFA organizes, among other things, lucrative competitions for European clubs such as the Champions League or the Europa League. But potential competitors have been warming up to this model for some time now – like the managers who are pushing the concept of a European Super League. SPort manager Bernd Reichart tells in the podcast “Zero Hour” how he wants to attack the current system – with a new Super League.
They won a lawsuit in the European Court of Justice against the football associations Fifa and UEFA in December. The court confirmed conduct that was harmful to the market. What does that mean for the Super League now?
Bernd Reichart: The court made it clear that UEFA has abused its market position in the past. Thanks to the ruling, UEFA can no longer simply close the market to others in the future. Everyone, but especially the clubs, now has the freedom to exchange ideas about alternative competitions – such as the Super League. This was previously not possible under threat of sanctions.
UEFA itself interprets the verdict differently. Its president, Aleksander Ceferin, has claimed that the ruling actually strengthens UEFA. Why are your interpretations so far apart??
This is the typical behavior of a monopolist who thinks he can continue his privileges. Anyone who talks to lawyers and experts will hear a lot of support for our position.
But lawyers in particular often interpret judgments very differently. UEFA refers to a side note in which it is loosely translated that associations are allowed to set rules to restrict competitions. But these must be transparent, objective and non-discriminatory. UEFA now has to draw up a new, fair catalog of rules. How does he look like?
I can’t say what UEFA is doing. We announced from the start that we would treat everyone fairly in the Super League. Solidarity with amateur sport? Gladly. Real financial fair play? Also like. Consistency with the European sports model? Check it. By the way, this works at the national level. A few years ago the clubs became independent of the national associations. This has given rise to separate leagues and organizations such as the DFL, La Liga and Serie A. Why shouldn’t this be possible at European level?
In 2022, UEFA drew up a new set of rules to forestall the ruling. Isn’t that enough?
No, the catalog does not meet the criteria you have already mentioned. It is designed solely to preserve the illegal monopoly. The ruling, on the other hand, has made it very clear that UEFA cannot introduce rules or procedures to block projects organized by clubs, such as the Super League we have proposed. The court was very clear about that.
The biggest problem in professional football is the increasing inequality between teams. UEFA has been trying to address this with Financial Fair Play for years, but has failed. How would a Super League address this problem?
By organizing the organization of European competitions in the same way as almost all national leagues in Europe. If the clubs organize these competitions themselves, make the rules themselves and ensure that they are followed, then it works. When it comes to financial fair play, UEFA is a walking conflict of interest and would not dream of excluding its best horses in the stable from competition. A big issue is also individual clubs, which have access to almost unlimited funds due to their ownership structure. We believe that football has to make do with the revenue it generates.
But that sounded completely different in the original 2021 draft – there was talk of four billion euros that the investment bank was supposed to give to JPMorgan.
At that time, the clubs had to fear sanctions from UEFA, which threatened the livelihoods of the clubs and their players. Players were even threatened with exclusion from the World Cup in Qatar. The money was intended as security in case the teams did not receive any European revenue for a while. Thanks to the ruling, the situation is different and we no longer need this security. That doesn’t mean we don’t talk to investors regularly. With what we plan to do, we don’t want to let the clubs bear all the risk at the beginning. With the support of investors, we will provide a safety net that guarantees revenue and solidarity payments during the first three years of the new competition.
What exactly can fans expect from a Super League?
For me it is an open format with the 64 best European clubs in three leagues, between which teams can be promoted and relegated, and with strong links to the domestic leagues. A competition that is captivating from the first to the last day of the match and doesn’t just get exciting in the spring.
So there should be three leagues. Bundesliga clubs could initially only qualify for the third-tier “Blue League” and continue to be promoted from there. Fans criticize that this leads to a devaluation of the national leagues. What do you think?
I find the current system much more unfair. Why does the fourth place in the Bundesliga qualify directly for the Champions League and the Belgian champions still have to qualify? That would be different for us. Anyone who qualifies can consolidate financially in the first year, expand the squad in the second year thanks to the more predictable income and attack at the front in the third year. But of course he has to prove himself athletically, otherwise he will be relegated. The income from a European league enables the clubs to operate more long-term – and sooner or later to attack national series champions.
The Champions League has adopted parts of this concept. A league system will also be introduced there in the coming season. Why do we need a Super League then?
I have to strongly disagree with that. The model that is now coming to the Champions League was one reason for the first attempt with the Super League 2021. With the new Champions League system, we will see significantly more insignificant games that have no influence on the tournament outcome. You have away games against teams that you don’t have home games against. Nobody needs that. We need better encounters at eye level where something is at stake. Otherwise we will lose the fans.
Fans should be able to stream the Super League for free. Do you have young people in particular in mind because they don’t like watching 90 minutes in one go?
Losing the younger generation to other sports or entertainment options is one of the biggest threats to European football. We need to give young fans a much better experience. Three expensive subscriptions to be able to see all the games is definitely not one of them. We looked at all the models in the entertainment industry. The platform we are building aims to bring Super League games to billions of football fans worldwide using a hybrid model of subscriptions and advertising. The basis of this is that all games are shown for free. This has been tried and tested and can work well. Spotify and many other media companies with hybrid business models are proof of this. And it offers clubs an opportunity to communicate directly with their fans. It may be hard to believe, but many clubs know very little about their own foreign fans. A platform like this would change that.
Nevertheless, in the end the question remains as to who actually wants to take part – clubs like Bayern and Dortmund canceled their participation in the Super League after the ruling.
Since the end of December we have been in discussions with even more clubs from all over Europe than before, and a lot of them are genuinely interested in our format and the streaming platform. But we don’t put a contract on anyone’s table and ask for a signature. The court ruling has set a lot in motion for the clubs. But of course it takes a while to break free from a system that has ruled with fear and threats for 70 years. I’m patient with that.
And when does the Super League start?
An initial proposal is available, but we are open to changes. We now want to convince fans and clubs that we are a valid and attractive alternative. And only when all of this is successful can it be implemented. How fast it goes – let’s see. At least the starting signal has now been given due to legal certainty.
Nils Kreimeier spoke to Bernd Reichart
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