FALLOUT CONTINUES AS SUPER LEAGUE PERSISTS ANOTHER DAY
The day after the announcement of a breakaway European Super League brought nothing but more displeasure as the government pledges to prevent the competition from moving forward.
Speaking to Parliament on April 19 the Culture Secretary and national Sport Minister Oliver Dowden said that he “was appalled by the announcement made late last night”.
“These six clubs announced this decision without any consultation with football authorities, or with the government,” he said. “But worst of all, they announced it without any dialogue whatsoever with their own fans”.
While founding clubs have stated they aim to improve the existing European football economic model, their biggest area of profit is financially.
Where a successful UEFA Champions League campaign may net them 40 to 80 million pounds, this new competition could see their profit fall between 250 to 300 million pounds.
Mr Dowden has since said that football authorities have the government’s full backing.
“We will put everything on the table to prevent this from happening,” he said. “We are examining every option, from governance reform to competition law, and the mechanisms that allow football to take place. Put simply, we will be reviewing everything the Government does to support these clubs to play”.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has joined 85 thousand signatures for a petition to stop the competition and a YouGov poll showing 79 per cent opposition.
Klopp stated in 2019 that he hoped the Super League would not happen despite its economic benefit.
“For me, the Champions League is the Super League in which you do not always end up playing against the same teams,” he said. “Why should we create a system where Liverpool faces Real Madrid for 10 straight years? Who wants to see that every year?”
IMPLICATIONS FOR AUSTRALIAN PLAYERS
Arsenal goalkeeper Mat Ryan would be the only Socceroo affected should the competition go ahead, but Matildas players may also be faced with a conundrum soon enough.
A Super League statement read that “as soon as practicable after the start of the men’s competition, a corresponding women’s league will also be launched, helping to advance and develop the women’s game”.
Although these clubs don’t represent the elite of European football, if the exact clubs went ahead with a women’s competition, national captain Sam Kerr plays for Chelsea, while her Matildas teammates Alanna Kennedy (Tottenham), Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Lydia Williams (all Arsenal) are also at proposed Super League clubs.
