UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin reacted to the threat of the Superleague with plans for a new Champions League. The body is already in talks with the ECA and clubs that bet on the other competition like Real Madrid, Manchester United and PSG. The intention is that this will begin in 2024, but it is not excluded that this will be advanced if there is a consensus.
Since Josep Maria Bartomeu left Barcelona announcing that he had registered the club for a European Superleague, continental football has been turned upside down. Week after week, new clubs are showing interest, details of such a competition emerge, and UEFA is increasingly tearing its hair out.
But the FIFA threat appears to have been a solid wall to weaken the Superleague. The international body has warned that it will disqualify from its tournaments any club involved in the external project, as well as its players.
Then ‘AS’ publishes this Friday that UEFA has gained strength. The threat of the Superleague was and still is there, but it made it clear that the Champions League and the model of European football needed a major reshaping.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has set up a body that will shape the new Champions League. It includes RFEF president Luis Rubiales, Portuguese Fernando Gomes and UEFA treasurer David Gill. Theodore Theodoridis, the organization’s general secretary, is also on board.
The key to this movement is that negotiations have started with some members of the European Club Association (ECA) who were involved in the creation of the Superleague. This is the case with Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester United and PSG. Turkish club Fenerbahce is also involved.
To reform the current Champions League, UEFA could create a new structure in which the clubs themselves would also participate to have a say in the creation and organization of the new tournament, for which a 9-year contract would be signed a priori.
The tournament should a priori start in 2024 and continue until 2033, when the format will be reviewed again. However, UEFA believes that if full consensus emerges, the new Champions League could be brought forward to 2022 or 2023.
However, the national championships would also be affected by the new competition. Not like with the Superleague, but the European body understands that the Federations will have to make room for the European calendar by reducing their Cup competitions and reducing the championships to 16 or 18 teams.
Although the idea of the private European Superleague is still active, Ceferin is gaining support from several of the clubs that would participate such as Juventus. Real Madrid are still reluctant, but they are more and more open.