The announcement Sunday of a plan for a dozen top European soccer teams to form a breakaway Super League is nothing short of a sporting revolution.
To find something similarly impactful in the U.S., one would need Kenny Young Jersey to look back to the creation of the American Football League in 1960 to compete with the NFL and the subsequent agreement that brought about the Super Bowl in 1966 and the complete merger of the two leagues in 1970.
All the formation of the American Basketball A sociation and the World Hockey A sociation did, ultimately, was add a few teams to established leagues.
The Super League would completely alter how European soccer operates.
And, like most revolutions, it will not proceed without a battle.
DeCOURCY:
What is the European Super League?
Its meant to be a supplementary competition to each clubs domestic league, similar to how the UEFA Champions League operates now.
The difference is that the core ESL teams would not have to qualify to compete, as they do now. Under current Champions League rules, for instance, the top four Premier League teams qualify each year to enter the Champions League group stage.
With the Super League, the 15 founding members would be involved annually, with five teams able to qualify on an annual basis. The standards for qualifying have not yet been explained.
Super League teamsArsenalChelseaLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedTottenham HotspurAtletico MadridBarcelonaReal MadridAC MilanInter MilanJuventus
There are six from Englands Premier League: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur. There are three from Spains La Liga: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid. And there are three from Italy: AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus.
Notably, there are no teams from Germanys Bundesliga as yet identified, although Bayern Munich is the reigning Champions League winner. And there is no representative from Frances Ligue 1, although Torry Holt Jersey Paris Saint-Germain is involved in the 2021 Champions League semifinals.
The identity of the other three founding members has either not been established, or it has yet to be revealed. Given how poorly the secret of the Super Leagues Sunday night announcement was kept, it seems likely that those spots are being held in case particular clubs change direction.
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Hans-Joachim Watzke is CEO of Boru sia Dortmund, which qualified for Champions League in nine of the past 10 seasons. He quickly announced that the club had rejected the Super League plan. He also said Dortmund and Bayern Bundesliga winners in each of the past eight seasons and clear favorite to win a ninth straight had 100 percent compatible views on the subject.
Given the consequences of this decision, it felt a bit presumptuous to take his word for that. After all, were talking about what is e sentially a revolution in European soccer.
Bayern still has not i sued a statement on the subject. Its Twitter account on Monday was focused entirely on the clubs attempt to secure another Bundesliga title.
But its chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, made vacant when Juventus chair Andrea Agnelli resigned following the Super League announcement. That would appear to confirm Bayerns intent to remain committed to Champions League.
Why is the Super League happening?
Money would be the easiest answer. Guaranteed involvement in a lucrative competition that would, by definition, be competitively prestigious is an obvious lure for all involved as well as that the Jack Youngblood Jersey 20 clubs would not have to share revenue with myriad teams involved in Champions Leagues qualifying rounds and UEFA itself.
Champions League payouts total an estimated $2.4 billion annually. The Super League clubs expect theyll generate more. J.P. Morgan has agreed to underwrite an initial $4.2 billion, , with a po sibility that outside investors will be offered the opportunity to participate.
The increased revenue would come at a time when soccer clubs have experienced significant revenue declines because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gates have been eliminated or limited throughout the 2020-21 domestic and Champions League seasons. Because of quarantine restrictions, some Champions League games have been played in neutral countries in empty stadiums.
How will the Super League work?
The 20 teams will be split into divisions of 10, with each team playing home and away against the nine opponents in its division. The top four teams in each division would advance to a playoff round of quarterfinals, semifinals and final.
That would mean a total of 21 Super League games for the winner and runner-up.
Teams in the current Champions League arrangement play 10 games if they reach the final. Under the renovated Champions League plan announced Monday, that would expand to between 14 and 16, depending on how a team performs in group play.
The Super League plan likely would further impact domestic cup competitions, particularly one such as Englands Carabao Cup, because of the physical demands on players.
How will this impact Champions League?
As it stands, particularly with the top German clubs committed to remaining in Champions League, the competition figures to continue, albeit in a compromised form.
Remember, though, thateven with nearly all the UCLs best performers over the past couple of decades coming almost exclusively from the breakaway clubs (and those who most obviously declined to join), the Champions League is a continent-wide competition that involves clubs from 54 nations, Kayvon Webster Jersey including Georgia, Montenegro and the Faroe Islands.
All of those national a sociations and the clubs they represent figure to be damaged by the separation.
What could stop it from happening?
It's po sible, though unlikely, thatthe clubs could listen to the ardent supporters already lining up against this abdication of tradition. There is a report that Chelsea fans will protest outside its home stadium, Stamford Bridge, on Tuesday. A group of Liverpool fans posted a black sign with white lettering on a gate at Anfield stating, "SHAME ON YOU, R.I.P. LFC, 1892-2021."
But the club owners will depend on fans' love of their clubs and the sport to supersede such conserns and displays.
The only thing that could stop this is a legal defeat. UEFA is warning of legal action, and the founding owners of Super League Los Angeles Rams Jersey are promising the same.
How could it impact the World Cup?
UEFA president Alexander Ceferin declared on Monday, The players that will play in the Super League will be banned from playing in the World Cup and Euros. They will not be allowed to play for their national teams.
UEFA might be able to constrain its member nations from includin