The European Super League has been re-launched as the ‘Unify League’ with a ‘promise’ that it will be free to watch, according to reports.
English football’s co-called ‘big six’ – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham – were founder members of the original Super League project in April 2021 but quickly withdrew amid fan protests and pressure from the football authorities and the British Government.
All six publicly distanced themselves from efforts to launch a new competition in the wake of a ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last December.
It was suggested that UEFA’s 2021 rules which blocked the Super League’s formation were anti-competitive and ruling in a Spanish court in May proved that FIFA and UEFA “abused” their power in opposing the breakaway competition.
This ruling has echoed a previous one by the ECJ which ordered FIFA and UEFA “to halt anti-competitive behaviour”.
Both governing bodies imposed “unjustified and disproportionate restrictions” on free competition within the market, the court said.
A22 Sports Management – the promoters of the ESL – were handed a huge boost by last December’s decision by the ECJ that proved the ban was contrary to European law as UEFA did not have the criteria to authorise or not authorise a new competition.
Judge Sofia Gil explained her ruling in May: “It is not possible to impose a prohibition or restriction as a matter of principle, in other words to prohibit any other project in the future.
“To admit the contrary would be tantamount to accepting a kind of ban…on any football competition project that competes with the current Champions League.”
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And now the Daily Telegraph claim that the ‘European Super League is back rebranded as the “Unity League”, ready to challenge Uefa’s Champions League pre-eminence with a claim that it will be free to watch.’
A22 Sports have ‘scrapped the notion that certain clubs qualify automatically every year’ and instead there will be a ‘proposed annual qualification for all four leagues within the Unity League’.
The new rebrand ‘promises a dedicated app through which matches could be streamed for free’ and the Daily Telegraph add:
‘The European Super league company and A22 will now ask Uefa for permission to operate the competition. A22 believes Uefa is obliged to do so under the December 2023 ruling from the European courts.
‘The proposal is for 96 clubs to compete – fewer than the 108 that qualify for the group stages of Uefa’s three competitions including the Champions League. The Unity League champions would eventually come from the top two tiers, the Star League and Gold League. Both would feature 16 teams divided in both cases into two groups of eight. Those eight would play each home and away – 14 group stages fixtures. The top two clubs from each of the four groups would go through to a final eight.
‘The final stages would begin with two-legged quarter-final followed by single game semi-finals played at a neutral venue in the same week as the eventual final. That would mean 18 games in all for the winner. The Blue and Union leagues would play a similar knockout format.’
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