A22 Sports Management, ‘A-22’, the company that promotes the European Football Super League, announced that it has already submitted a proposal to both UEFA and FIFA to obtain official recognition of their new European club competitions. The main characteristic regarding the initial sketch of the idea of organizing the Super League is the care of sports meritocracy that is derived from performance in the national leagues. Bernd Reichart, general director of ‘A22’, clarified this Tuesday some points about a project that is moving forward with the desire to guarantee quality in the following experience for the fan. For this reason, the CEO of the Super League announced that the launch of the competition for “the 25-26 season would be too early”. “I don’t want to rule it out, but next season seems very ambitious to me.”he warned.
Reichart was very precise when specifying that “there will be no fixed clubs” in the new competition. “Everyone must qualify through their performance in the domestic leagues of the previous season, with the exception of the tournament winners, who will be guaranteed a ticket.”he qualified. With references to 96 clubs that are aware of the current context, he stressed that “We are talking to a sufficient number of clubs to comply with the competition design.”. “We have been able to collect the opinions of a wide representation of the world of football. This is from the clubs for the clubs, it is a club project. There are 96. The adjustments will be made by consensus of the world of football”he commented.
Given that the clubs currently play competitions under the UEFA seal, the CEO of the Super League suggested that it is logical that the teams be guided by caution. “The proposal is born and prospers if it has the support of all the clubs that are in the competition. But you have to understand that clubs currently play in UEFA competitions and their desire not to irritate someone who has a monopoly on the current competition is understandable. We do not want to divide the world of football. Every action of ours in the past caused a counterreaction. Now we want to be cautious. We want and need to convince everyone”he pointed out.
In relation to the deadline for action, Reichart stressed that the goal is to present the fan with an experience worthy of it. “There is a paragraph in the CJEU ruling that says that a supposed regulator should not take it to infinity. You must do so within a reasonable time. The technological term is not easy to say, but it depends on the socio-technological profile. It is a matter of many months of preparation and implementation to offer it to the fans as they deserve, it must be a new experience for the fans in front of their screens. We would not leave until there is a guarantee of experience”he insisted.
Read also
The opportunity for each fan to be able to enjoy watching the matches beyond what would be the ‘basic’ model, with ‘premium’ formats, explains the technological rigor and its relationship with deadlines. “Open matches are not new. Now platforms have the opportunity to add a greater number of highly interesting viewers for brand communication. Football fans, many of them, want more than a basic experience. Unify should do that, but at affordable prices. It’s the way to fight piracy: be affordable. This is how the music business, the movie business, the NBA or the NFL have been saved. The direction of travel is clear: football must seek a more sustainable revenue stream than relying on auctions. Clubs must have a direct relationship with their fans, not like currently, when they manage them through intermediaries”he concluded.
