During the summer, the Champions League anthem was missed by many football fans, happy to find the best of football competitions again on Tuesday evening. But with this return of the C1, in a new format, it is also time to ask questions about the progress of the project that presents itself as a competitor, that of the Super League.
In recent weeks, the only time the Super League has come back to the forefront was during the draw… for the Champions League. With this sequence where Aleksander Ceferin, president of UEFA, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic openly mock the project, which presents itself as a competitor to the famous C1. For several months, silence has been the order of the day for the leaders of the Super League. “We are moving forward”, is all that is said by a person close to the project.
The project has not moved
The model has not changed. The Super League still aims for 64 clubs divided into three divisions, not to mention a closed league. The promoters still put forward free broadcasting of matches. “In order to make piracy useless,” confides a source close to A22. And adds: “We need to change the traditional model of TV rights which has shown that it is out of breath.” This theme of piracy has been at the heart of the news for several weeks, particularly in Ligue 1. With the prices charged by DAZN for the French championship, illegal broadcasts on Telegram are exploding, even with the latest promotions.
The promoter assures that a paid offer of 10 euros will be integrated into its offer for the beginning of next season (if the project sees the light of day) in order to have a match without advertisements and additional features. On paper, nothing new. But for a few hours, it is mainly the level of the first matches of the Champions League that is being singled out. For their part, some representatives of A22 assure that their competition will take place with “balanced matches (…), no inflation of matches without stakes, or played in advance”.
Still in discussions with the clubs
With the advent of the new system in the Champions League, the Super League could suffer from the comparison. The format (good or bad) is quite similar to the one presented by A22. The football fan will see few differences, it will even be incomprehensible if the two competitions (in an imaginary future) coexist.
The presence of the biggest European teams in a single union (ECA), and very close to UEFA, also shows how difficult the mission will be for the promoters to convince clubs to join the project. A22 is still in discussions with several teams, without ever making names or discussions official. Cadena SER assures that more than 100 clubs have spoken with the promoters, without the latter confirming the trend. A discussion does not mean an agreement to join the competition from next season.
And even with the end of the legal stages, the uncertainty about the continuation of the project persists. The promoters of the Super League are considering a launch at the beginning of the 2025-2026 season. They will have to act quickly to set up an entire organization with significant human resources. Which means that announcements, a little more concrete, with participating clubs, could be made during this season. If the project goes through. From there to recreating a psychodrama in European football during the season? Anything is possible.
