On Sunday the announcement of the European Super League (ESL) shocked the entire football community and left many feeling angry and betrayed by the clubs they support. The league was set to start during the 2023-24 season as a new mid-week competition already getting a 6 billion dollar backing from American investment bank JPMorgan. The proposed league would have 20 of the biggest clubs in Europe with the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Manchester United as participants, 15 of which would have permanent status in the league being founding members. The ESL was met by significant backlash from supporters, lawmakers, and even U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson claiming that it was an attack on the roots and culture of football by the owners of big-time football clubs who supported the league to generate more revenue.
Many feared that this new league would destroy the 100+ years of history of domestic competitions like the Premier League forever despite the ESL planning on operating during the weekdays which wouldn't conflict with domestic play. The event became very controversial to fans with the idea of hosting the wealthiest clubs that would have permanent status in the ESL and not clubs who earned spots through merit. Stories that make up what football or soccer is like Leicester City’s underdog season in 2015/16 where they won the Barclays Premier League despite the odds starting at 5000/1 against their favor would cease to exist. As of Wednesday evening, eight of the original 12 teams that signed up in support of ESL have already withdrawn with threats of government intervention and the uproar from participating club fans being the main reasons. If the project went through the league would rival UEFA’s Champions League which is the world’s biggest annual sporting event. Many have also criticized the UEFA and FIFA in the past calling such organizations monopolies that don’t allow for a competing tournament to exist like the ESL. Both organizations have their history of controversy being called out for corruption in the past with nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives being indicted for racketeering conspiracy and corruption in 2015.
Florentino Perez the Chairman of the ESL and President of Real Madrid announced that the project is to try and save football rather than for financial greed. He stated the league was an effort to save clubs financially following the Covid-19 pandemic which has seen clubs lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
Questions to consider:
1. How should Football clubs handle situations like UEFA and Fifa's monopoly?
2. What changes would you have made to the ESL and to similar leagues that might be proposed in the future?
2 comments:
This is an interesting case of economic decisions interfering with cultural ones. It actually reminisces of Native populations being forced to turn to tourism as a viable economic engine to sustain themselves in the rapidly modernizing world. On its face, it appears that the ESL would help sustain football in Europe as a form of rapid revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic. These 20 teams could, theoretically, play on weekdays separately then also fulfill local cultural obligations. However, the problem occurs when demand for more players to compete in the tournament (aplenty with nonproduct competition such as advertising deals, and simple benefits to teams and thus to salaries), more players from other clubs would elect to join the big 20 clubs. This would deteriorate the cultural fabric of football in Europe if the ESL isn’t simply a one-time project. And often lucrative projects are hard to stop once manifested. So, it appears that the lawmakers favor cultural preservation over a lucrative option for 20 teams and other parties related to the tournament. Though, it’s important to consider, of course, the revenue and local jobs provided by local football teams that may go out the window as competitive players flock more than ever to the top 20. It is also similar to the UEFA and Fifa monopolies, though, so I’m a bit confused why these aren’t similarly contested (perhaps because they are already engrained and lawmakers learned their lesson). For future leagues, I would obviously propose merit-based selection into the tournament, as well as creating teams based on temporary “super-teams” or “all-star teams” based on the best players of local teams (similar to the Olympics strategy to preserve country talent). This would allow reaping the financial benefits while also preserving the integrity of European football.
The creation of a whole new league is kind of interesting, and there would definitely be a lot of problems with it. It does allow for more football to be streamed, and this generate more revenue, however this isn't a case where competition elevates the game. If the player numbers per team is similar to the English Premier League, it would be 20 teams and around 17-19 members per team so its around 360 members total. Even though being streamed on different days wont conflict with viewership, it is possible some players offered a better contract would try out the EPL, and take a portion of the fanbase with them. With that being said, even if its unlikely, its possible that is a way to combat the club monopolies. If players would rather have a bigger contract than stay in the EPL, it could slowly draw fans to it.
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