“Instead, a small handful of owners want to create a closed shop of elite clubs at the top of the game – a league based on wealth and brand recognition rather than upon merit. “This is a sport where a team like Leicester City can ascend from League One to the Premier League title in under a decade, earning the right to go toe-to-toe against European heavyweights in the Champions League. “It was a tone-deaf proposal, but the owners of those clubs won’t have been able to ignore the near universal roar of outrage from all parts of the football community over the past 24 hours,” said Dowden. The other founder members are Spanish giants Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, and the Italian clubs Juventus, Internazionale and AC Milan.Īddressing parliament, Dowden said the government would consider using competition laws and changes to club ownership structures to stop the Super League, which would see 15 founding members – with three more expected to join – share a £200-£300m “golden hello”, with five other clubs invited to take part every year.
The football pyramid, which sees clubs rise and fall on merit, would be compromised. The “founder members” would be included automatically in the new super league, regardless of results. The proposals, unveiled late on Sunday, would see the Champions League supplanted as the dominant European competition.
In a rare invention he added: “Now, more than ever, we must protect the entire football community – from the top level to the grassroots – and the values of competition and fairness at its core.” Prince William, the president of the Football Association, said he shared the concerns of fans and warned that the move by the breakaway clubs – Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – “risked damaging the game we love”.
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