WORLD football has been thrown into its deepest turmoil and faces life-altering challenges and war after 12 of the richest clubs around the globe announced a breakaway European Soccer League, worth over $6-billion.
The development affects hundreds of current African football stars who play for top clubs in Europe. The future of thousands of prospects eyeing lucrative European contracts is also threatened.
The move has angered fans throughout Europe and the world, including at least one government. The British government pledged that it will do ‘whatever it takes to protect the national game’.
In an unprecedented move, which is the single biggest challenge to FIFA in its history, 12 top European Clubs have signed up to start the league, which is scheduled to start in August. The clubs are: AC Milan, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as Founding Clubs. Three more clubs are expected to join.
The war has also been described as a bold move by American billionaires to take over European football. The billionaire owners behind the clubs are driving the proposals which have been widely criticized by fans include John Henry (Liverpool), Stan Kroenke (Arsenal) and the Glazer’s (Manchester United).
In terms of FIFA’s strongly-worded response to the breakaway league, players who participate in the Super League will:
- Be banned from representing their countries in the World Cup.
- Be banned from European championship,
- May not be able to sign for teams outside the Super League
An angry UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin called the owners snakes and said he wished the UEFA could ban Super League clubs and players from all of its competitions.
“I cannot stress more strongly at the moment that UEFA and the football world stand together alongside this disgraceful, self-serving project from a select few clubs in Europe fueled by greed above all else. This idea is a spit in the face of all football lovers and our society as well. We must not let them take [football] away from us. I have seen many things in my life, I was a criminal lawyer for 24 years. I’ve seen many people. I’ve never seen anyone like that.”
UEFA has threatened the Super League clubs with legal action that could see them barred from existing domestic competitions like the Spanish league and the British Premier League.
However, the founders of the Super League seem to have anticipated the move. In a letter to FIFA and UEFA, clubs said they were concerned that the two organisations would respond to the formation of the Super League with punitive measures to exclude any participating club or player from their respective competitions.
The clubs said they have approached the courts across Europe in order to ensure a seamless establishment of the Super League. They said they have been forced to take protective steps to secure themselves against FIFA and EUFA’s adverse reaction, which they said would not only jeopardize the funding commitment and would be unlawful.
Clubs that have signed up for the Super League will share a $4.8- billion pool of cash of up to $433-million per club, which can be spent on new players, salaries, stadia and training facilities. The clubs also stand to make billions more by striking a fresh global TV deal. In addition, the clubs would share millions in expected advertising revenue.
