The recent announcement on the formation of The Super League, a proposed 12-club league to feature clubs from Italy, England, and Spain, has sent shockwaves across the world of football. Something which stands out is the response to the Super League: almost everyone appears to be vehemently against this decision.
Fans, analysts, football associations, and even politicians - all have been vociferous in condemning the 12 clubs' decision to separate themselves from what is now mainstream domestic and European football and start this new league.
Their respective responses are understandable, given everything we know thus far. There is a distinct possibility that The Super League will widen the gap between the leading clubs and the rest of the field while serving to enrich the pockets of these clubs' owners at the expense of everyone associated with other clubs. Some have even branded the move to be an anti-competitive one which undermines the current level of balance which exists in the Champions League as well as domestic leagues.
However (and I'm ready to face your pitchforks for saying this): from my perspective, I believe that the establishment of The Super League will change very little from both the structural and competitive perspectives.
Perhaps the main reason why I believe the reaction to The Super League is overblown is this: the Champions League as it is now is effectively a "super league" of sorts.
Think about it for a moment. Since 1998, if Bayern Munich are excluded (they are excluded because though they wouldn't be part of The Super League, they are clearly on that level), only once has a non-Super League club won the Champions League: Porto in 2004. What's more, almost every team since then which has made at least the semifinals in each season has either been Bayern, the cash-rich Paris Saint-Germain, or one of the Super League clubs.
Those who say that "it shows that money is ruining the game" have clearly not been paying attention to football over the last 20 years. That ship has long sailed. The era of the transfer arms race began a very long time ago and shows no signs of abating. Even the installation of the so-called "Financial Fair Play" regulations did absolutely nothing to curb it. Nothing will change even if The Super League does not come into being.
Some even claim that the creation of The Super League will "dilute history". This is an exceedingly ridiculous point which can easily be debunked. When the World Cup changed its competition format in 1982 and again in 1998, did previous World Cup titles suddenly stop being less prestigious? When the Champions League went through not one, not two, but three format changes in the 1990s, did anyone say anything about the dilution of football history back then?
The detractors do have one valid point: it will weaken the general standard of domestic league and cup play. But let's be real: at this level, every club wants a Champions League (and subsequently a Super League) title more than anything else. Domestic leagues and especially domestic cups already take a backseat to the Champions League as things are now.
If anything, my biggest concern over The Super League is, ironically enough, the selection of the clubs which would be participating in it. Among the 12 clubs, probably the leading title contenders would be Manchester City and Inter Milan, with a group of seven other clubs potentially having a puncher's chance themselves.
Then, we come to the three London clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham. These three are so far behind the other nine clubs that in my estimation, the inclusion of these clubs in The Super League would actually damage the overall product. Though the league is obviously intended to be a money-making venture, the sight of Arsenal or Tottenham getting destroyed by City or Barcelona or Inter every week would not be a good look at all.
Assuming that The Super League goes ahead, I'd say that there are certainly some rough edges to be worked on and several serious issues to consider. However, if all goes according to these clubs' plans, the only major change I see happening is the Super League's supplanting of the Champions League as Europe's preeminent club football competition.
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