Dylan Bettencourt
The European Super League may become a reality in August as 12 of Europe’s biggest football clubs agree to breakaway from the UEFA Champions League.
The founding clubs are the English Premier League’s Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United and the remaining six are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan.
The new competition will apparently create more revenue during the pandemic which has increased the risk of financial loss.
An estimated $5 billion (R71 billion) has been funded by JP Morgan, and the founding clubs will receive €3.5 billion (R59 billion) to aid their infrastructure investment plans and to balance the negative effects of Covid-19.
The news has been widely condemned across the footballing world.
FIFA and UEFA have declared that all clubs and players involved in the Super League will be banned from competing in major competitions such as the World Cup and European Championship.
The Premier League’s statement said the Super League would destroy the ambitions of many who dream of making their way up the footballing ladder and competing against the best teams in the nation.
Even British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has become involved.
The plans “would strike at the heart of the domestic game and will concern fans across the country,” he said.
Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez was instrumental in devising the tournament, and was named the competition’s first chairman. He said the competition should start when it was more practical, in August 2021.
“We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world,” he said.
Picture source: @GiveMeSport
