The biggest news in world football when we woke up this morning was the European Court of Justice decision that ruled UEFA’s laws prohibiting member clubs from participating in outside competitions was unlawful. This seems to set the stage for a resurgence and a recommitment to the so-called Super League, should clubs wish to form one. And indeed, it appears that a revamped proposal is already underway.
But that might not apply to Premier League clubs at all. According to The Athletic, the Premier League — separate from UEFA — already has rules in place that prohibits its members from leaving to join a Super League in any form. There’s also the soon-to-be-established Football Regulator in the UK which presumably could also prevent clubs from leaving the league.
And at this point, the individual clubs that were involved in the breakaway Super League in 2021 are saying the right things. Multiple clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur have released statements reaffirming their rejection of the Super League and confirming that they will hold with current Premier League laws.
Following today’s (Thursday, 21 December) ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the European Super League (ESL), we should like to confirm that our position has not changed. We remain committed to the values of European football, and we will continue to work… pic.twitter.com/rgYRQtPgJ5
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 21, 2023
Following today’s (Thursday, 21 December) ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the European Super League (ESL), we should like to confirm that our position has not changed. We remain committed to the values of European football, and we will continue to work with fellow clubs through the ECA and participate in UEFA competitions.
Will there be a Super League? Maybe. Seems likely there will be SOME sort of extra-UEFA competition that emerges from this ruling. Aside from their league literally passing laws to prevent it from happening again in the future, Premier League clubs likely aren’t clamoring to break away for a Super League because the Premier League is the richest in world football. Every other league is trying to play catch-up with the PL financially, so some sort of competition that tries to bridge that gap is a possibility. Maybe a joint league featuring the best teams from Spain, Italy, and France? Perhaps something else? We don’t know, other than that Real Madrid and Barcelona (and specifically Florentino Perez) still appear to be driving the Super League bus.
Regardless of that, however, it doesn’t seem very likely that Tottenham Hotspur, or any other Premier League club for that matter, will be involved. And that’s fine with me.