Why is the new football ESL so controversial?

[00100001]

Can some explain like I'm 5?

Why are all the fans, the government, UEFA etc up in arms?

Sorry.... Just not sure what the problem is?

@00100001

are there any other equivalents to this league? eg in American Football?

Yes, the NFL is a "closed" league.

Pro14 in rugby too. But not exactly the same.

But can someone explain to me why "it's about the money" doesn't apply to UEFA as well? Long history of corruption there (and FIFA) after all. Now some clubs want to do their own idea instead of entering the Champions League, UEFA are hopping mad. Because they care about football, or because their top execs care about bribes and backhanders?

Safari it does apply to those organisations and the current way the game is run. This is just a next step, albeit a monumental and ground shifting one.

@herethereandeverywhere

Safari it does apply to those organisations and the current way the game is run. This is just a next step, albeit a monumental and ground shifting one.

Excatly The dominance of the richest clubs is nothing new. The gap has got wider as the sums involved became more obscene, but at least there was still the dream, eg Leicester.

isn't this a natural progression of the game being taken over by international money of questionable source? Any angry fan of a club who has made this move needs to ask themselves why they thought they mattered? Have they dug into the pasts and presents of their club owners?

Here's an article to get you started, enjoy your digging www.linkedin.com/pulse/roman-abramovich-corruption-football-arjun-medhi

Arsenal season ticket holder here and I am appalled at all those involved.
There's already too much football, it should be something to look forward to. We should be going down the route of getting rid of the 'Champions' league and going back to the European Cup where the champions of each country play, not 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. Seed the entrants by all means, but don't expand it.
As for this new Super League, absolutely disgraceful and it's all about money, money and more money. Selling the rights to yet another satellite channel who will charge the fans extortionate amounts to watch it.

Hope the premier league and all the other Euro league hold their nerve and don't bow down to these selfish bastards.
Huge respect to Bayern, PSG etc., and never thought I'd say this but also Gary Neville.

UEFA and FIFA corruptions stinks and is probably a key reason why the so called big clubs want to break away and govern their own European league.

I’m not for this new league, but the idea that UEFA or the EPL gives a flying fuck about fans is laughable. They only care about the revenues from televising games, they don’t care about fans attending 8pm kick off on a Monday night across the country or when the Europea League final was held in Baku with just 12k tickets for fans in a 70k seater stadium.

The new UEFA Champion Leagues reforms effectively achieve a similar outcome as this super league as certain teams will always qualify based on history than qualification through a league spot.

The greed is already there!

Sorry if it’s been mentioned but will these teams still play in the premier ?

Chipsandpeas, you're mistaken unfortunately.

It's an absolute kick in the teeth to football fans who have supported their team through thick and thin. It's about money and it's pure greed. These teams are haemorrhaging money constantly but now will have a guatenteed income.

You'll Never Walk Alone? Laughable.

@MadisonAvenue @Horizons83 Same at Arsenal. I always think they are a bit like pilgrims at Lourdes.

I am a bit concerned about what they've unleashed with this decision. Here I am, a middle aged mum, getting so, so angry about all of this. But there is a really extreme fringe of fans who are so invested, so nuts they would do anything. Like the small number of Liverpool fans smashing Real Madrid's team coach window last week.

If they thought the everyday supporter was being locked out of the game, I wouldn't be surprised if all that passion everyone loves in football isn't turned against the owners and they burned those fancy stadiums down.

(Just to clarify: I am not condoning this kind of behaviour, just saying do they really understand the forces they unleashed?)

@queenofarles

Sorry if it’s been mentioned but will these teams still play in the premier ?

It’s not known yet.

The clubs involved in the European super league want to play in their respective domestic leagues but the EPL (and others like La Liga) have released statements opposing it.

The EPL doesn’t say they wouldn’t be allowed to play though. I guess there will be a lot of lawyers talking and negotiating. Too much money at stake for anyone to do anything rash yet.

And to those that say Arsenal haven't won anything for years, I think you're thinking about the N17 lot. Arsenal are the current FA Cup holders! :-)

@queenofarles

Sorry if it’s been mentioned but will these teams still play in the premier ?

It could be that will be banned from the EFL or even playing for national teams but at the moment it is far too early to say.

I read this on a different form about keeping an eye out for the mentioning of Rule L.9 in the days to come

L.9.
Except with the prior written approval of the Board, during the Season a Club shall not enter or play its senior men’s first team in any competition other than:
L.9.1. the UEFA Champions League;
L.9.2. the UEFA Europa League;
L.9.3. the F.A. Cup;
L.9.4. the F.A. Community Shield;
L.9.5. the Football League Cup; or
L.9.6. competitions sanctioned by the County Association of which it is a member.

@00100001

are there any other equivalents to this league? eg in American Football?

NFL fan here. While I think the ESL idea is dumb, it's not because of no relegation. We don't have relegation in American sports and I can assure you they're still extremely competitive with rabid fans! If anything the NFL is far more competitive than the Premier League, partly because of revenue sharing and salary caps. In the last 12 years, 10 different teams have won the Super Bowl.

I've actually drifted away from watching the PL and CL in recent years because it seems like the same teams with the most money are always on top. UEFA and FIFA are ridiculously corrupt. The whole system stinks. So in a way if all these teams bugger off to play their own oligarch league to rich tourists, the PL and CL might get more interesting?

BUT obviously it would be terrible for the fans and the league overall so I'm not seriously suggesting it.

OK. playing devil's advocate (kinda).

So, it's acknowledges that the likes of "Redford Town Rovers" can't ever hope of winning the ESL, but they can hope/dream of winning current competitions.

So what?

They can still be in the Premier League surely. And instead of having hugely wealthy teams dominating the leagues (because they have the money to buy the "best" players) this will now level the playing field?

Or is the outrage actually all down to money really? Are UEFA/FA fighting this so hard, because they'll lose out on £££ if the Premiership/Champions league etc is devalued?

@Laffinalltheway

And to those that say Arsenal haven't won anything for years, I think you're thinking about the N17 lot. Arsenal are the current FA Cup holders! :-)

Yes they've won it 4 out of the last 7 years! Catch up, people

@herethereandeverywhere brilliantly put 👏🏻👏🏻

Yes that could be the case, that's the way So Foot spins it (from BBC live blog)

“The day European football faltered”, reads France’s So Foot, which sees the potential departure of 12 teams as a chance “to finally breathe”.

“If this NBA-like tournament is to become reality, it will increase suspense… teams like Ajax, Porto, Roma or Napoli will experience the thrill of reaching the final stages of the Champions League and will actually have a chance to win it. This would also mean that some legendary European teams could experience a second wind – can we dream of seeing Glasgow Rangers, Dynamo Kyiv or Panathinaikos lift a European Cup in the next few years? Can we picture Leicester or West Ham as the next Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest of the 2020s or 2030s? Yes, we can. And that’s exciting.”

Another Arsenal season ticket holder here. I echo the PPs. Feel so disappointed. I'm considering giving up my ticket with the way the game is heading now.

Not wishing to distract from the main discussion points but do those of us with sporting competition backgrounds (previous to parenthood) and importantly team fans believe that many team sports particularly professional top flight European men's football and say North American men's basketball, American football and ice hockey etc are now (or have been for decades but less previously discussed) all about big business, revenue generation, alleged uncomfortable quasi legal financial tax arrangements and asset transfers/convertibility, controlled by international business tycoons. That this is facilitated and goes hand in hand with relevant sports authorities that all take an active advantage of the fan base and continued devotion despite top sporting stars pocketing the equivalent of a typical true fan's annual take home pay in hours if not days etc etc? We hear much about the cheating with banned performance enhancing drugs but what about the concept of fair sporting nature amongst this and historic match fixing etc (alleged proven or otherwise). It does seem as though the long term fan is increasingly of lesser value to these sporting empires than the good old days when they were appreciated more than tourists and gamblers etc. Players themselves perpetuate the big money and fame concept themselves as again its business on the field and sporting the shirt that pays the most than any long term commitment to develop the team and nurture sustainable club sporting culture from within. Sports agents are also not to be underestimated as to their influence despite their arguably parasitic nature. Bit of a rant but I used to enjoy football until they started to pay telephone number wage bills for essentially kicking a piece of pig skin for a few minutes work. Some modest and most devoted fans save up just to purchase season tickets and travel expenses to follow and support their tribe! It's a bit upside down to me especially as most sports (many others with more sporting talent baseline requirements!) don't get the prestige nor monetary investment nor rewards. Plus it's a bit dare I suggest (well it's MumsNet after all!) not much about sex equality? Just some thoughts....for the jet set billionaires to ponder on their latest club acquisitions and changing the goal posts to best suit their interests!

Thanks for explaining everyone - I was at a loss when I heard this on Radio 4 this morning!

I have to agree with a pp that both The FA and UEFA don't give a shit about fans (and I'm not one) but their greed is awful. They only care about this as it's a threat to their business model.

If you cant get demoted theres less incentive to play proper competitive football, but if the players are playing an extra game or week and travelling to and from Europe weekly, will that lessen the quality of football they play here. I thought they were already saying there were too many fixtures.

DialSquare

Great username!