European Super League relaunched as the ‘Unify League’ – here is how it would work
The war for football’s wealth began a new chapter on Tuesday with the backers of the European Super League rebranding it the “Unify League”, ready to challenge Uefa’s Champions League pre-eminence with a claim that it will be free to watch.
The erstwhile Super League (ESL), which had a seismic impact on the game when it launched in April 2021, said the new proposals would not include permanent membership of the league for a small elite – as was the case in the past. It guaranteed annual qualification via domestic leagues for all but the defending champions in the four proposed new competitions and said it would now formally request recognition from Uefa and Fifa to market its proposal to clubs.
The Unify League has just two remaining members, Real Madrid and Barcelona, from the ESL launch almost four years ago although the pair did not comment publicly on the new proposals. Instead that was handled by Madrid-based A22 Sports Management, which acts on behalf of ESL and has close connections with Real president Florentino Pérez.
The prospect of Uefa losing its lucrative Champions League competitions, as well as the Europa and Europa Conference Leagues would destroy the European governing body’s revenues and reduce it to the role of just a regulator. Uefa’s uneasy relationship with Fifa means it is not certain of the support of Gianni Infantino who is himself launching a direct rival to the Champions League’s broadcast wealth, in the expanded Fifa Club World Cup. Nevertheless, Uefa is understood to be confident that ultimately the proposals offer no long-term threat to its pre-eminence.
No English clubs commented on the proposals from A22. The decision of six Premier League clubs in April 2021 to join the breakaway ESL caused huge conflict in the game, with sanctions for those involved – the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. The Premier League clubs agreed new rules in the aftermath of ESL that clubs faced expulsion if they joined unsanctioned competitions.
Uefa has already fought A22 in the European Court of Justice over the legality of alternative European club competitions. A22 said that it believed the court’s ruling in December last year gave it scope to propose a new competition that was “inclusive and meritocratic”.
Matches will be streamed for free
A22 proposes that the Unify League would be streamed on a branded “Unified” platform, via an app, with a similar model to Netflix. Subscribers could watch the games free with a relatively high level of advertising content, or pay for a premium that would eliminate the advertising in the same way that the music streamer Spotify operates.
The challenge for the organisers would be to finance the competition in its early years without a broadcast deal, while it attracted subscribers and advertisers. Well-placed sources said that the clubs might decide to sell off part of the competition to private equity, as has been the case in Spanish and Italian domestic football, or to take on debt.
There is currently no suggestion of a major Middle East backer, according to sources, although that cannot be ruled out. There are strong suggestions that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) is financing Infantino’s inaugural expanded Club World Cup this summer via a proposed acquisition of a stake in the broadcaster DAZN.
Most current Uefa broadcast and commercial contracts run for three years with a central distribution model agreed on behalf of the clubs by the European Club Association (ECA) which is run by the Qatari president of Paris St-Germain Nasser Al-Khelaifi. ECA would vehemently oppose what it would see as a Pérez-driven breakaway and has called in the past for Real and Barcelona to rejoin its group.
In its attempts to head off disquiet among fans, Uefa has overhauled its competitions for the current cycle – most notably the “Swiss model” Champions League single 36-team league table. It is understood that Uefa has told clubs that the current format in all three competitions will run for at least 10 years, demonstrating broadcaster approval. The number of games has increased.
Uefa announced this year that of its €3.3 billion (£2.5 billion) of annual distributions to clubs for this season alone, €2.5 billion (£1.9 billion) will go to the 36 Champions League clubs.
One insider said that the Unified platform had the potential to become “the TikTok of football” where users would go for free match content, subscription content as well as retail. A22 believes that elite European club football is the gateway to attracting users on to a digital platform which will be monetised in many other ways. It also pledged to be globally accessible rather than geo-blocked as is currently the case for European subscribers.
96-club competition
The proposal is for 96 clubs to compete in the Unify League – fewer than the 108 that qualify for the group stages of Uefa’s three competitions. The Unify League champions would eventually come from the top two tiers, the Star League and Gold League. Both leagues 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-finals, 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. In its current format, the winners of the Champions League this season will play 15 games – or 17 if they do not qualify in the top eight of the group stage. The Blue and Union leagues would play a similar league and knockout format, and there would also be a women’s competition.
John Hahn, co-founder of A22, said: “We have listened intently to a broad group of clubs, leagues and fans and with these changes believe we have a lot of support. We are not expecting the public support of clubs at this time, logically that will come following the official recognition of the Unify League.” He added that the premium subscription would be “meaningfully cheaper than it is [to consumers] today.”
Q&A: All you need to know about the Unify League
What happened to the European Super League [ESL]?
It never went away. This is the second relaunch since the April 2021 announcement that – to use the tabloidese – rocked soccer. It was then swiftly vanquished by opposition from fans, the Premier League, government, the Football Association and even the Duke of Cambridge, now Prince of Wales, William. The difference with the two relaunches is that there is no English club involved – or at least willing to put their name to it. These are just proposals.
How is the Unify League different?
The ESL company, registered in Spain, and its advisors have refined the model from the original 2021 one that was reduced to a smoking ruin very rapidly. That version proposed a closed-shop of heritage European names. Second time around in February last year it changed again – this time opening the door a little wider. But even that version meant that a club that broke into the Champions League places for the first time or after a long absence, like Aston Villa, would face disadvantages. A low coefficient – the metric rating historical performance – would mean those new teams would not go into the premium European competition. In the latest proposals that too is gone. All qualification is via domestic league performance.
How are the new Star, Gold, Blue and Union leagues different?
It is a similar qualification process for the current three Uefa competitions. The group stages are different to the Swiss model single-table format. ESL and its advisors, A22 Sports Management, have tried to eliminate all the deeply unpopular aspects of previous proposals. The ESL/Unify League also has to comply with the European Union legal requirement to be “meritocratic”.
So what is the difference?
ESL and A22, backed by Real Madrid and Barcelona, want to cut out the middleman. In this case Uefa and its ally on the club side, the European Club Association [ECA]. It is about power. Real president Florentino Pérez could have run ECA but he and the 11 other rebel clubs resigned in April 2021 when they launched ESL. They lost that battle. Now ECA is run by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the Paris-St Germain chairman. He and Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin shape Uefa competitions and decide the distribution of revenue. Both have to carry with them their respective members.
Can the Ceferin-Al-Khelaifi alliance ever be defeated?
That is the aim of ESL/Unify League and A22. Even if it were possible it would be a bloody battle. It would be fair to say that not every European club is happy with ECA and Uefa. But Al-Khelaifi has support among the biggest of his members and especially the former Premier League ESL rebel clubs who just want to keep their heads down and earn that sweet Uefa revenue. The Qatari influence in Europe, through broadcaster and rights-acquirer beIN Sports, is strong.
What have the Premier League clubs said about these latest proposals?
Nothing. The ‘Big Six’ were badly burnt in 2021. There is a government regulator coming to British football. The Premier League now has big punishments in the rulebook for those who join unsanctioned competitions. There is no mileage for the big English clubs in saying anything. Although they may well be watching with interest.
Even if it got Uefa approval, how would the Super League – Unify League – be financed?
That is the €1 billion question. It is proposing giving away rights on an app which also has a premium subscription option. It would need huge start-up funds to develop the technology and the rights distribution – not to mention the prize money for clubs. There is a reason Uefa, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, etc, license their rights to external media partners. Delivering direct to consumer in scores of different territories is fraught with regulatory, political and financial challenges. The back office requirements alone would be enormous.
Who might pay the bill?
The claim is that there is not a Middle East backer for all this and that it could be funded by debt or by a partial sale to private equity. That sounds like a massive risk for the clubs involved when Uefa provides them with income security.
What would be attractive to the clubs?
Cutting out the middleman is what the Premier League clubs did in 1992 when 22 of them broke away from the Football League. But that feels simple compared to almost 100 clubs across potentially 55 different countries breaking from Uefa. In the Premier League it is one club, one vote. There is a super-majority of 14 for decisions to be passed. Would every club in the ESL/Unify League really have the same voting power?
Who are A22 Sports?
They are run by the US investor and private equity executive John Hahn and his business partner Anas Laghari, the Madrid-based French-Moroccan financier. Both are principals in Key Capital Partners which has arranged significant financing for Real in the past, as well as Barcelona. Laghari is close to Pérez. Indeed, Laghari has been tipped as a potential successor to Pérez as president. The 77-year-old has held the role for 21 of the last 24 years.
Where does it go from here?
The proposals are likely to be dismissed out of hand by Uefa which has on its side the clubs – bar two – the broadcast contracts and the history. Uefa is likely listening to clubs to gauge what, if any, support there is for the Unify League, A22 and the two rebel clubs. It may consider this a stalking horse to test whether a new competition could in theory be licensed. In private Uefa has to take this seriously. The Champions League makes Uefa the wealthiest football organisation on Earth, by per annum revenue. If Uefa senses it could lose the jewel in its crown, that is a battle it will fight to the end.
