Tribune. In less than 72 hours, the Super League will have passed from life to death. Carried on the baptismal font by a handful of leaders of wealthy European clubs, it has achieved the feat of arousing against it an unprecedented wave of protests from supporters, players, coaches, politicians, broadcasters and sponsors.
How could these leaders believe that they could impose a closed league without involving the actors of the most popular sport in Europe? What blindness will have led them to believe that they could break with 150 years of European football history and threaten an ecosystem of jobs, volunteers and solidarity networks?
Reform for the better
” Football is for the fans “ the players answered them on their jerseys [du club anglais] of Leeds United, as if to indicate to them that they are only the provisional custodians of the destiny of these clubs. And remind the rest of Europe that this attempt at secession was everyone’s business.
This crisis calls for rethinking the governance of football in Europe, for reconsidering the place of supporters, elected officials and sponsors within places of power where the clubs’ strategic orientations are decided.
European football competitions must be reformed. But they must be for the best. The new format of European competitions presented by the European Union of Football Associations (UEFA) raises questions. And for good reason, it has evolved under pressure from the owners of “big” clubs. A few days later, twelve of them will decide to betray their word by creating a private Super League inspired by those from across the Atlantic. They did so with one goal: to secure their financial interests to the detriment of athletic intensity.
This project was led by leaders who have riddled their clubs with debt and for years weakened the football economy in Europe. Unable to rethink an economic model they know to be unsustainable, they desperately seek to ensure its survival. This headlong rush threatens European football with an explosion. The time has come to stop this mad rush. This crisis calls for the creation of a financial policeman, a sort of European version of the National Management Control Department (DNCG).
Ensure real runoff
Faced with the greedy appetites of certain club leaders, UEFA has regained its role of guarantor of the interests of football players. A healthy start for a confederation which had so far made the choice to give way more and more to the whims of the “big” clubs. What this crisis has revealed is the need for a football regulator. Can UEFA play this role?
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