The CEO of A22 Sports Management, Bernd Reichart, has stated that a revamped European Super League would be a competition based purely on sporting performance and without any permanent members. A22 Sports Management is a company promoting this new version of the league. In 2021, the company supported a 12-club ESL proposal, but it failed to come to fruition due to protests against it.
Reichart believes that the foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing and that it is time for change. He argues that clubs bear the entrepreneurial risk in football and should have a greater say in important decisions, rather than being forced to stand by as the sporting and financial foundations crumble. The original plans for the ESL in 2021 involved 20 teams, with 12 founding members and three additional clubs expected to join later, plus five teams who would qualify annually based on their domestic achievements.
However, after widespread condemnation, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham withdrew from the project within 72 hours. Despite this setback, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus are still pushing for the creation of an ESL.
Despite the recent ruling, the organization behind the proposed European Super League (ESL), A22, has been engaging in discussions with various stakeholders across Europe regarding the future of club football. As part of these efforts, A22 has formulated 10 principles aimed at promoting fair and merit-based competitions and supporting the development and financial stability of women’s football. According to A22, these talks have revealed that clubs often face challenges in openly opposing the current system, which uses the threat of sanctions to stifle dissent. The discussions were described as being “open, honest, constructive” and resulting in clear ideas for necessary changes and their implementation. La Liga President Javier Tebas has strongly criticized the ESL, describing it as a wolf in sheep’s clothing that threatens domestic leagues and benefits only the largest clubs at the expense of smaller ones. La Liga issued a statement calling the proposals a “direct threat” and claiming that they would negatively impact European football as a whole.
The Football Supporters’ Association and its CEO, Kevin Miles, also expressed their opposition to the ESL, calling it a “walking corpse” that ignores the widespread contempt it faces from supporters across Europe. Miles noted that the idea of open competition is already present in the Champions League.
