Super League not so super for Football

 


18th April 2021 may go down in history as the day that football officially died.

12 of Europe's biggest clubs (including England's 'Big Six' Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur) announced their intention to form their own breakaway 'European Super League'. They claim this new competition will be great for the fans and bring a new level of exciting competition. They claim this will benefit all the football pyramid with the extra finance brought in. This is nonsense. It has nothing to do with competition or helping the grassroots but everything to do with greed.

The rot has admittedly been setting in for a while, the idea of a Super League is not a new one. The European Cup was changed to the Champions League format (and expanded to incorporate non-champions) in the 90's to placate the big clubs looking for an ever-increasing slice of the footballing pie. The immediate effect was a devaluing of UEFA's other competitions which had a knock-on effect of damaging domestic competitions. Finishing fourth in the league became more valuable than winning the FA Cup, that had a mere Europa League spot on offer to the winner.

Making the top competition a closed shop to all but an elite few benefits nobody and only damages the game further. On its own terms it fails, as Liverpool vs Real Madrid becomes a routine fixture rather than a special occasion as it currently is.

Less commented on is the proposal to extend the Super League to the women's game. The last thing a sport only just establishing itself needs is the inevitable shunning from the fans the Super League will bring.

The argument that this will benefit the football pyramid is another fallacy. This is the same trickle-down economics that was claimed when the Premier League and Champions League were first introduced. But we know this doesn't work. I am a Chelsea fan but when I'm not following them I watch my local non-league side Basingstoke Town. I see both sides of the spectrum. Chelsea can waste £70m on a striker who can't score and shrug their shoulders while Basingstoke are without a ground, struggling just to survive. Bigger, more established clubs than Basingstoke are in similar positions. Make no mistake, the Super League money will go to the top clubs and that is where it will stay. It will make no difference to the lower league clubs.

The Super League is a very serious threat. It is not a mere proposal. They are not 'investigating the possibility', there is no 'consultation with the fans'. The language is very definitive, it's real and they are doing it. I am a Chelsea fan but I am also a football fan and hope that our teams can see the light. 

As football fans, we have put up with a lot. We watched as money took over the game, as ticket prices soared and our clubs became ever more enamoured to the TV money. But there has to be a breaking point. It feels cliche but the only hope is the fans. Vote with your wallets. Don't go to the games, don't buy the merchandise, don't watch on TV. Even try writing to your MP.

Maybe it will make no difference but it is at least heart warming to see Liverpool, United, City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea fans all so united in their opposition.

If they want to carry on down this path, we will not follow them

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