Fan Power Wins as Clubs Decide Against Super League Proposals

When 12 clubs, including six from the Premier League announced proposals to form a new Super League to play in rather than the Champions League, there was instant anger from fans, media and pundits all over the world.

The game of football as we knew it was in danger of changing, and fans were not happy about that. However, just a couple of days after those proposals were put on the table and were said to be ‘legally binding’ teams withdrew their interest after a backlash from supporters.

Led by Chelsea and Manchester City, the six English clubs eventually decided against it, stating that they had listened to the fans and saw that there was not approval for the plans.

Fan Power Wins

But was that the case, or were clubs simply hoping to push this through, but ultimately were stopped from doing so. Probably the latter, clubs knew that the fans would not like this, but they went ahead anyway, hoping that they could see out the trouble and get their own way.

That didn’t happen though, fan power won, and for now, the Super League has been placed on the shelf, though don’t be surprised to see it back at some point in the future.

Why Create a Super League?

The reason for creation is simply money and nothing else. Teams feel they do not earn enough from the Champions League. This is because there are many smaller teams in the competition who all get a share of the money, and because there are just six group games, so teams could exit the competition early.

The Super League guaranteed more games with a bigger group stage, and eliminated the chance for smaller team to enter by effectively cutting them off and creating a franchise system where outsiders could not join in.

The idea was to have 15 of the 20 clubs in the competition as founding members, meaning they played every year.

Why Did Fans Hate the Super League Idea?

If you look at everything above regarding the Super League, what it does is take away competition and a reward for the better teams. If 15 teams are guaranteed to qualify, regardless of results in the competition or domestic success, then they are being rewarded for doing nothing.

Another team may do brilliantly, win their domestic league, have success elsewhere in Europe, but ultimately not get a seat at the big table. That is not fair, and it is not football as we know it.

When we see the best teams win competitions like the Champions League, we enjoy their success because they have earnt it. They have gone through a competition and beaten the best that Europe has to offer, getting a reward at the end.

For now, the Super League is merely a talking point. What it currently represents is an idea that fans do not want in the game of football, hopefully one that never comes to fruition, for the sake of the game as a whole.