THE BEAUTIFUL GAME, IN

The beautiful game, interrupted by ugly money

Sterre Schrijver

Although the idea has been discussed ever since the late 1990s, the concept of a European Super League drew considerable attention after the Football Leaks debacle of 2018. This involved a series of European newspapers such as the German Der Spiegel or Spanish El Mundo revealing hundreds of documents exposing, amongst others, several tax evasions and illegal third-party arrangements. The leak included the disclosure of an apparent top-secret meeting between top European clubs, discussing the idea of a European Super League (ESL). This League was supposed to substitute the mighty Champions League and instead create a football league consisting of 18 of the best teams of Europe playing in a round-robin system followed up by a play-off round, much like the set-up of American sports competitions. Mid-April 2021, on a calm Sunday evening, football twitter suddenly erupted over the official announcement of the European Super League, made by twelve participating clubs. All of a sudden everyone with at least a slight passion for ‘the beautiful game’ seemed more united than ever, with even Boris Johnsen and Emmanuel Macron publicly opposing the idea of the ESL. Moreover, as a form of protest, FIFA, the international governing body of football, including its six continental confederations (CAF, AFC, CONCACAF, OFC, CONMEBOL, and UEFA), publicly rejected the concept by stating that “any club or player involved in such a competition would as a consequence not be allowed to participate in any competition organised by FIFA or their respective confederation.” A mere two days after the initial announcement, after multiple public outrages from all sectors of society, ten out of twelve of the ‘founding members’ had already officially withdrawn. Nevertheless, though plans for the ESL might be on hold for now, the danger of money hungry presidents and CEO’s overtaking the world of football is still ever-present, lest these recent events be a warning for them.

So why would clubs, most notably their owners, even support such enterprise? Well, for the same reason that clubs go to Dubai for their yearly training camp, play their domestic cup final in Abu Dhabi, or why top earning players in Europe’s top leagues go to China to earn even more: money. According to The Times, clubs could earn up to €360 million to join, followed up by €248 million a season. Especially now in times of financial hardship, clubs appear to be incredibly eager to take on every opportunity that could increase their revenues. Because even before the word ‘corona’ came to mean more than tasty Mexican beer, fans and journalists alike were shocked to learn about the high debt levels of clubs such as FC Barcelona and Juventus (€1.173 billion and €458.3 million respectively). Now with the pandemic, clubs around Europe face even bigger problems due to huge drops in match-day and broadcast revenue.

“Football is more than just a sport; it is supposed to bring people together.”

Nonetheless, despite this significant need for higher income, “Unity can be lost when insidious ideas are pursued under the pretence of survival, growth and business needs,” as UEFA’s general secretary said it. The differences in wealth and power between big and small clubs have never been greater, mostly due to insanely high sponsor deals and broadcasting contracts. This is the reason why in 2019, Ajax received 50% less Champions League prize money than Barcelona, even though they were both losing semi-finalists. The arrival of the Super League would only see these differences grow, with small teams and small competitions becoming even smaller, and the bigger ones bigger. In the words of Real Madrid’s German star midfielder Toni Kroos: “the gap between the big clubs and small will expand even more. Everything does not always have to be faster, with more and more money.” Football is more than just a sport; it is supposed to bring people together. A European Super League would merely push people further away from one another. The emotions that the sport generates, the passions that it brings, and the unity it creates is unique, and should forever be cherished. Without the Champions League as we now know it, we would not be able to witness half the city of Glasgow screaming their lungs out, drowned in litres of beer, because somehow their much beloved team just beat the almighty FC Barcelona. Even though their squad was nearly nine times less worth than their opponents’. Or what about those famous Champions League evenings here in Amsterdam two years ago, when Ajax did the unthinkable and beat respectively Europe’s apparent modern football giants and ‘founding members’ of the ESL, Real Madrid and Juventus?

Even besides these magical events, what about the excitement of finally watching the best teams coming from all over Europe to play against each other after a long four months drought, every year around valentine’s day. It simply would not be as exciting any more if such matches were played on a weekly basis. Imagine the Olympics being held every summer, or the Eurovision Song Contest being sung every month. Would we not just become sick of it then? All we would end up with is “meaningless matches that worsen football’s inequality,” as was perfectly summarised by The Guardian. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that fan groups all over Europe, though usually highly divided, voiced their highly negative opinion of the Super League in unanimity. These football fans are joined by another new and surprising player: the European Commission. EC’s vice-president Margaritis Schinas stated: “There is no scope for the few to distort the universal and diverse nature of European football. The European way of life is not compatible with European football being reserved for the rich and the powerful.” When one could truly appreciate the power of football as a force of unity, bringing all sorts of people together who are bonded by tears of joy or sadness, you could such money-grabbing enterprises as the ESL. The splits have already widened too greatly and money has beaten fan interests too many times to count. So not only in the name of magical football nights, but also in that of European unity, lest we never allow a European Super League and forever celebrate the beauty of the underdog.