European Super League
The European Super League (ESL), officially The Super League, is a proposed seasonal football competition for club teams in Europe. The initial iteration of the league entailed 20 teams, with 15 of them being founding members of the competition. The league was created by a commercial enterprise called the European Super League Company. This company aimed to rival the UEFA competitions, such as the Champions League, which are currently Europe's top club tournaments.
| Organising body | A22 Sports Management S.L |
|---|---|
| Founded | 18 April 2021 (proposal) |
| Region | Europe (planned) |
| Number of teams | 64 (Men) 32 (Women) |
| Motto | "One For All" |
| Website | a22sports |
The leadership behind the ESL are Florentino Pérez (president of Real Madrid), Andrea Agnelli (chairman of Juventus), Joel Glazer (co-owner of Manchester United), John W. Henry (owner of Liverpool) and Stan Kroenke (owner of Arsenal). By 2023, Pérez and Barcelona president Joan Laporta remained the most vociferous advocates of the ESL.
The European Super League announcement in April 2021 was met with widespread opposition from various groups: fans, players, managers and football clubs. The league also faced opposition from UEFA, FIFA and some national governments. Critics of the league raised concerns about elitism and a lack of competitiveness within the ESL, as the league would consist of high-ranking teams from selected European countries who would be permanent contestants in a semi-closed league format.
The backlash against the announcement of the league's plans resulted in nine of the clubs that were supposed to participate, including all six English clubs, announcing their intention to withdraw. However, eight of these clubs remain involved in the project as stakeholders. In April 2021, the ESL announced that it was suspending its operations, and a legal dispute ensued. National courts have ruled that FIFA and UEFA must not interfere with the development of the ESL.
In October 2022, A22 Sports Management, a company formed to "sponsor and assist" in the creation of the European Super League, announced it would be relaunching the competition. On 21 December 2023, the European Court of Justice issued a ruling that a ban on the ESL would be contrary to European Union law.