How would a European super league work?
As football becomes more and more popular and more and more money flows into the game, a “European super league” has been something that’s been discussed in more recent years. The reactions to the super league have been mixed, and while the concept seems exciting, the real question is how would it work and how what would need to happen to make it work? So, let’s analyse how the “European super league” would work.
Questions that must be addressed
Why would it happen?
Football is the most popular sport in the world, yet the revenue that are earned from the likes of Champions League is significantly less than what the NFL earns. Why? Because of poor marketing.
At the least, most football fans will watch the big games that occur in Europe’s top 5 leagues, and in order to maximise viewership and revenue, why not create a league comprised of the best teams? While the Champions League already does that, the competition isn’t like a league in a sense that teams are playing each week in and week out. The super league would essentially create a platform that would allow the best teams to compete with each other on a weekly basis.
How would it work?
With the current league structures in place, it would seem the traditional league structure across several European leagues would essentially be terminated. However, with the super league, it seems that the most feasible solution would be creating a tier-system that includes the current aspects of a traditional league system.
Furthermore, considering the “super league” would operate like a normal league, many teams would have to opt out of their current leagues in order to participate. What also must be considered is just how many teams there are in the English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian football pyramid, so this operation would certainly take a long time to plan and execute. At the moment, few are adamant about a “European super league”, as it would mean dismantling several leagues.
How will it be organised?
For an idea that’s so grand and is about merging all the best teams together, it would require a lot of time and attention for this idea to work. Whether UEFA or someone else organises it, there would have to be several meetings amongst club representatives and league representatives to discuss the future of domestic competitions with the implementation of a “super league”. Not only that, but because there’s so much that can go wrong with this plan, the “super league” isn’t something that can necessarily happen in the next 2 years, but something that may not happen until 10 years from now.
How will it be broadcasted?
TV rights has been a hot topic of more recent years, as the audience continues to grow for the game. Not only are broadcasting companies desperate to cling acquire TV rights to gain a large audience, but due to the recent rise in online streaming, the likes of Amazon will be massive players in broadcasting this event.
The best solution ideally in terms of broadcasting is a company that can broadcast everywhere, with cheap prices that can offer the matches on TV and online, while remaining cheap. By doing this, this will ensure that everyone can watch the “super league” games, and that they won’t be “priced out” of watching the games.
When would it be broadcasted?
Despite the fact that the super league is European based, the biggest market at the moment is in Asia. With recent El Clásico matches starting at earlier times due to maximising viewership in Asia, it’s very likely that such matches would start at afternoon kick-off times with little late-night kickoffs.
Who will be at a loss
Fans
Imagine continuously travelling to Spain or Germany on a weekly basis as an away fan from England. With high costs of transportation to go to the stadiums and high ticket prices (likely to happen), many fans would be “priced out” from attending matches and showing their support. Furthermore, the fans of smaller teams would certainly be livid as they would no longer have the opportunity to play the big sides. All in all, the idea of a “super league” would certainly not benefit fans as they would simply have to pay excessively high costs without guaranteed returns.
Football
Now, you may be wondering, “what do you mean football???”, but the day that the “super league” is confirmed, will be the same day that football officially became an entertainment rather than a sport for all. Should the “super league” go through, this simply means that clubs are acting based on financial gains rather than caring about the fans or even the emotional attachments that people have to certain clubs. Even though many consider football to have already lost its soul, the “super league” would be the final nail in the coffin for those that see football as a sport and not an entertainment.
Whether one supports the idea of an “European super league” is all about perspective and how one views football. While many do view football as a religion, a way of life, and important part of their daily life, many view football in the same way many view the NBA; an entertainment. Unlike the NBA, football teams aren’t artificially created and a deep-rotted emotional attachment lies between the fans and the club. All in all, there’s so much that can be lost from creating a “super league”, and it simply would not be wise to start a “super league” in the next decade or so. Football is a sport for everyone and a sport that many have an emotional attachment to, making a “super league” would completely rip the soul of football.
