Monday, April 19, 2021
“We will help football”
The statement of the Super League founders in full
Twelve big clubs want to organize their own league operation, the Super League, in a largely closed circle. It’s about a lot of money and supposedly also an attractive competition. The statement of the founders in full.
Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have come together today to announce the launch of a new competition. The organizers of this new Super League, which takes place during the week, are its founding members.
AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur have joined the Super League as founding members. Three more clubs are expected to join before the first season, which should start as soon as possible.
The clubs look forward to engaging with UEFA and FIFA in order to work together and in partnership to achieve the best results for the new league and football as a whole.
The creation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability of the existing economic model in European football. In addition, for some years now, the founding clubs have been aiming to improve the quality and intensity of the existing European competitions each season and to create a format in which top clubs and players can regularly compete.
The pandemic demonstrated the need for a strategic vision and sustainable commercial approach to add value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid. In recent months there has been an extensive dialogue with football stakeholders on the future format of European competitions. The founding associations are of the opinion that the solutions proposed following these discussions do not solve fundamental problems. That includes the need to provide higher quality games and additional funding for the entire football pyramid.
Format of the competition
- 20 participating clubs, 15 founding members and five other teams with a chance to qualify each season. The results from the previous season are the basis for the qualification of the other clubs.
- Games during the week so that all clubs can continue to compete in their respective national competitions. In this way, the traditional calendar of the domestic leagues is protected as the core of club football.
- Beginning in August, with two groups of ten participating clubs each. The teams play home and away games. The best three in each group automatically qualify for the quarter-finals. The teams in fourth and fifth position compete in each group in a playoff with two games for the remaining quarter-finals. The participants in the final game are determined in the knockout phase with a return leg. The final will take place at the end of May as a play-off at a neutral location.
As soon as possible after the start of the men’s competition, a corresponding women’s competition will also be launched in order to promote and develop women’s football through the Super League.
For European football, the new annual tournament format means considerable economic growth and uncapped solidarity payments. These will increase with the league’s total revenue. The solidarity payments will be significantly higher than the payments from the ongoing European competitions. During the clubs’ initial commitment period, these should amount to over 10 billion euros. The competition will also have a sustainable financial basis, as all clubs commit to a spending limit. In return, the founding members will receive an amount of 3.5 billion euros, which is intended exclusively for the development of their infrastructure and to cushion the effects of the Covid pandemic.
Florentino Pérez, President of Real Madrid CF and 1st Chairman of the Super League: “We will help football at every level and bring it to its rightful place in the world. Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their wishes. “
In support of the newly created Super League, Andrea Agnelli, President of Juventus FC and Vice-President of the Super League said: “Our 12 clubs represent billions of fans around the world and 99 European titles. We have come together at this critical moment to promote the European To change the competition and to put the game we love on a sustainable basis for its long-term future. We want to significantly increase our solidarity and regularly deliver top fixtures to the fans and amateur players. This is how we fulfill their passion for the game and offer them at the same time committed role models! “
Joel Glazer, Manchester United Co-Chairman and Vice-President of the Super League said, “The Super League will open a new chapter in European football, with world-class competition and facilities. It will also bring increased funding the entire football pyramid benefits. “
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