Many of you may have seen, "The Super League" trending on social media while you were scrolling through your feed. Well it is an extremely controversial topic in the soccer world, where some say its to help soccer during this pandemic and where as some saying its ruining the legacy of soccer. So, what is The Super League?
What it is and background information:
President of the world famous Real Madrid soccer club, Florentino Perez is also the president of The Super League. He is the one who has made all the 'important' decisions regarding The Super League creation and project announcement. The creators had intended to change the format of the sport for the better, however it did not go as planned. The Super League was intended to be like the already successful champions league, however with a slight twist. The committee decided to include only the elite European soccer clubs with 12 founding clubs. The founding clubs meant, these clubs from the 3 'big' leagues of soccer in Europe could not be disqualified and they were a constant throughout all editions of The Super League. The 3 leagues were, La Liga (Spain), Premier League (England) and Serie A (Italy).
How the fans reacted:
With chants such as "Created by the poor stolen by the rich" and "football belongs to us not you", fans stormed to the clubs and stadium and clearly addressing their opinions. The phrase, "Created by the poor, stolen by the rich" has a very deep and historic meaning to the soccer fans. One could interpret this phrase as, the sport was 'created by the poor' however the rich came, as in the elite and rich clubs, and stole the game. Along side the fans, The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), also went against The Super League. They claimed that it was a path to ruin soccer, and it shall be shut down. The UEFA committee also decided if the clubs did not back away from the league, they would be banned from the UEFA Champions League, which is considered to be one of the greatest club tournaments in soccer.
In conclusion, The Super League committee realised how they were negatively impacting the game of soccer, as all the fans were against it and it is said that, the heart of the sport are the supporters/fans. So if the game would loose the fans, then everything would go downhill for one of the greatest sports in history. Recently it has been announced that The Super League is canceled for now, relieving the fans as they could enjoy the sport and support their teams again.
Works Cited:
Toffee TV : Everton Fan Channel. “The Super League Latest with the Redmen TV.” YouTube, 20 Apr. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CycK5hdbgk. Accessed 10 May 2021.
archysport. “This Is the Reason for Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund to Reject the European Super League.” Archysport, Archysport, 20 Apr. 2021, www.archysport.com/2021/04/this-is-the-reason-for-bayern-munich-and-borussia-dortmund-to-reject-the-european-super-league/. Accessed 10 May 2021.
“Elizabeth (@EBethPZ).” Nitter, 2015, nitter.tedomum.net/EBethPZ?cursor=HBaIgKOR7vzbtCYAAA%3D%3D. Accessed 10 May 2021.
Fernandez, Gabriel. “WATCH: Chelsea Supporters’ Protest Turns to Celebration as Club Backs out of Super League.” CBSSports.com, 20 Apr. 2021, www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/watch-chelsea-supporters-protest-turns-to-celebration-as-club-backs-out-of-super-league/. Accessed 10 May 2021.
Rigopoulos, Angelo. “A Guide to UEFA’s Good Governance Reform - LawInSport.” Lawinsport.com, 2021, www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/a-guide-to-uefa-s-good-governance-reform?category_id=112. Accessed 10 May 2021.