The European Super League could be about to make a dramatic return, with plans underway for 20 clubs to form a breakaway competition in the near future.
In April 2021, plans to form a rival to UEFA competitions were announced, with six Premier League sides, three La Liga teams and three clubs from Italy all involved. However, clubs quickly withdrew from the European Super League proposal, after vociferous fan protests against the elitist concept.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have all remained proponents of the European Super League, however, working in the background to try and revive its status. In October 2022, A22 Sports Management, a company formed to "sponsor and assist" in the creation of the European Super League, announced it would be relaunching the competition.
Then, on December 21, 2023, the European Court of Justice ruled that UEFA and FIFA were unlawful in blocking the formation of a European Super League, after both governing bodies threatened to ban clubs and players from participating in their competitions in the future.
After that ruling, it seems plans for the European Super League have made a sharp return. A22 Sports Management now claims that 20 clubs are in favour of joining the breakaway league, following recent discussions.
"I don't want to say their [the clubs'] names because I don't want to expose them," co-founder Anas Laghrari told El Espanol. "Since December 21, we have spoken with around fifty different clubs.
"About 20 of them are very, very motivated by the project. We already have enough clubs to start a competition.
"Once everyone understands that it is much fairer to have an authentic European pyramid, and not a system in which the quarter of the Spanish League is worth more than the Belgian champion, people will go towards this model."
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The proposals for the competition could allow for the tournament to be played around the world, while FFT has proposed the 60 teams who could be a part of proceedings, should the tournament be sorted by coefficient.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin slammed the European Super League founders in March 2022, as the timeline for the 2021 version of the competition descended into farce.
