In April, 15 teams from soccer’s biggest leagues decided to create a league independent of the major leagues that these clubs were a part of, in order to generate more revenue. 

These teams are Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Inter Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and AC Milan. 

However, the clubs’ fans and government officials in Europe burst into outrage.  According to MARCA International Football, the football clubs themselves suffered a huge fallout, with Liverpool losing a sponsor, and the Premier League board considering punitive actions for the English clubs participating in the league, among other punishments. 

Under pressure from fans and officials alike, the effort has since effectively failed with the withdrawal of the English clubs on April 20. However, this poses the question: How would European football have changed if the league had proceeded?

Football would look very different in the Super League. The matches would be weekly, allowing clubs to still play in their normal leagues, and these matches would be shorter. The founding 20 teams would always have a place, while five more qualifying teams would make it based on their success in their leagues. The top six teams would then play in a quarterfinal, then a semifinal, and then the final in a neutral venue. 

This tournament would create a “closed shop” for Europe’s best clubs. The tournaments in normal leagues would become meaningless, as the teams that won the tournaments would be overlooked in favor of the Super League one, which would undoubtedly draw more viewers. The normal leagues would lose revenue due to this hegemony of the Super League as well.

According to INews UK, the same 15 teams would be competing every year in the Super League tournament, so the success in the tournament would be based on richness, rather than the skill each club has. This would further eliminate the sense of underdogs in football: The sense that anything can happen in a given match, as only the best of the best teams would be playing. There would be no opportunity for a so-called Cinderella story to make it to the Super League finals. 

Ultimately, the consensus in the football world is that the combination of all these factors with the creation of the Super League would essentially ruin soccer. The league itself serves as a reminder that sports is nothing without the fans who watch them. 

Trying to sacrifice their fans for money, as these clubs found out, stands as a recipe for disaster that will most likely end up in mistrust between fans and clubs for years to come.