European Super League: The day football died

 

Copyright sofoot.com

Hello everyone

I hope you're well and healthy during these unprecedented times. Apologies for not being a regular writer. It has been a busy couple of weeks. I could decide to write a piece on Chelsea reaching the FA Cup final after winning 1-0 against Manchester City on Saturday evening thus ending the Cityzen's bid for a quadruple but instead I'll focus on the news that has left football fans across Europe and the world in disbelief.

As many of you know on Sunday night, an announcement was made that 12 of the biggest clubs came to together to form a new competition that will bring in lots of money (€320 million for each participant) therefore taking the total to €3,5 billion which will be provided by JP Morgan. These 12 are Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan. All mythical clubs with rich history.

Now to understand why this is such an issue,we need to go back to the origins of modern football as we know it today. Towards the end of the 19th century,football was created as a sport by working class men and women in England as a past time to distract themselves from work. Of course over time the sport has evolved with new rules and competitions as well as the creation of these teams by the community to represent them. Think off the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool just to name a few. With the arrival of big money in the 2000s the sport changed forever. A good example is the arrival of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea in 2003, Sheikh Mansoor at Man City in 2008, Fenway Sports Group at Liverpool in 2010, The Glazers at Manchester United in 2005 and the list goes on.

What do all these clubs have in common? They are owned by foreign investors and most if not all of them are focused on making profits,which has led to signings becoming more and more expensive as as broadcasting rights for competition such as the UEFA Champions League. I wont get into much detail on the finances but just know that there is a lot of money at stake.

As a Chelsea fan I am appalled that we would consider joining this elite competition that will exclude the less wealthy teams like Ajax,Leicester City, FC Porto and so many other clubs. Might I remind the owners of how the Blues were in debt before the arrival of Mr Abramovich in 2003,which I'm thankful for as he has given us wonderful memories over the 15 years (2005 & 2006 titles, FA Cups) but most importantly the 2012 Champions League, a title the Blues had wanted for so long,including Mr Roman and that will forever be in the memories of Chelsea fans for years to come. By joining this elite competition, we're basically saying that the likes of Leicester and West Ham cant compete because they dont have money to do so. The Super League is basically a way to kill a competition thats already exciting and unpredictable, The Champions League,which will be reformed in 2024 but thats a discussion for another day.

I feel sorry for Thomas Tuchel and other managers who had to answer questions surrounding the issue when it should be addressed to the owners of these clubs. Thankfully fans have made their opinion known on the issue and it was great to see banners across the stadiums such as "Football is nothing without the fans" by Matt Busby or "Football-created by the working class, stolen by the rich"and this so true on so many levels.
 
Yesterday UEFA and FIFA released statements saying that if any of the players for the 12 clubs decide to partake in this competition they'll be excluded from continental and international tournaments such as the World Cup, European Championships and The Champions League. So if nothing changes by Friday Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid could be kicked out of this year's Champions League semifinals so we will find out by then if they'll participate or not.

The irony of it all is that when it comes to money, the associations are quick to respond but when it comes to racism, the response is slow or almost no existent but thats for another time. Thank you Patrick Bamford for stating that last night. In case you missed the interview:


UEFA's response to the creation of the Super League:



Highlights from Chelsea's win against Man City on Saturday:


A bit of banter from Leeds United after holding Liverpool to a draw last night. Well done to the community manager

RIP Football: 1863-2021 😢 


 

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