the Super League project, renamed Unify League, requests recognition by European and global authorities

The promoters of a new European Football club competition, competing with the current Champions League, have not given up. On the contrary. Building on a judgment rendered a year ago by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), they announced on Tuesday, December 17, that they had requested the “official recognition” of their Super League project, now renamed Unify League, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the International Football Federation (FIFA).

“Under the December 2023 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, any competition whose qualification is inclusive and meritocratic and respects the global calendar can officially see the light of day”argues, in a press release, A22 Sports Management, the company based in Madrid (Spain) which is piloting this project.

The name Unify League is linked to Unify, the name of a streaming platform whose creation was announced in December 2023 and which is supposed to offer “both free, ad-supported streaming of matches and affordable premium subscriptions”according to A22.

The CJEU ruled, on December 21, 2023, that UEFA and FIFA had exercised, in 2021, a monopoly contrary to European law on freedom of competition by opposing the creation of a rival competition to the League of Nations. champions and by threatening clubs and players who participate with exclusion from international competitions.

Taking into account “annual performances” in the championship

This alternative project to the Champions League was initially supported by twelve European clubs, and particularly by Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. In its first version, it was a question of setting up a semi-closed competition, that is to say with automatically qualified clubs, without taking into account the results of the national championships.

But the prospect of this Super League had provoked very strong reactions, whether from football authorities, supporters’ associations or certain governments. This led the six English clubs, which had joined the project, to quickly detach themselves from it. Other clubs, such as Juventus Turin, then also gave up.

In May 2024, Spanish justice also ruled that FIFA and UEFA had “abused their dominant position” by opposing the Super League. But UEFA had argued that it had designed new regulations for its competitions, which were not, according to it, “affected by the decision”. The decision of the Madrid court “does not give third parties the right to develop competitions without authorization”had also advanced the case.

In December 2023, after the CJEU ruling, A22 Sports Management announced the upcoming launch of“a new open European competition”with “64 clubs divided into three leagues” – 32 clubs divided into two leagues for its women’s version – not including “no permanent members” and having to some extent a promotion-relegation system.

Today, the company claims to have discussed with the various championships, clubs and other stakeholders, and declares that it has modified its formula to take into account the “annual performance” in the championship to determine the participants in the competition. However, she gave no details on the participants and the schedule.