November 27 – A22 Sports Management, the group behind the European Super League project, has demanded that UEFA pre-authorises ‘the Unify League’ within eight weeks.
In a letter to UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis, with FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom also informed, A22 and its Chief Executive Bernd Reichart argue that the Unify League is “consistent” with the Court of Justice for the European Union’s (CJEU) ruling in December 2023, which found that UEFA’s approach to potential competitors breached EU law.
Referring to the ruling by a commercial court in Madrid, the letter argued that “three different European courts including the EU’s highest court have issued consistent rulings that leave no room for doubt: UEFA’s abuse of its dominant monopoly position cannot stand, and its exclusionary practices must cease.”
“Despite this clarity, UEFA continues to maintain statutes which are contrary to EU law. Incredibly, UEFA implemented its most recent non-compliant rules in June 2024, six months after the CJEU ruling. As a result, UEFA is now exposed to substantial damage claims from injured parties, including clubs, players and A22.”
A22 has taken legal action against UEFA in Madrid for damages. Spanish giants Real Madrid, which still backs A22 and the idea of a European Super League, claimed last month that they are owed €4.5 billion because of the league UEFA is refusing to approve.
In 2021, the Super League launch collapsed within a matter of hours after backlash from fans and politicians.
Last December, A22 unveiled its first Unify League blueprint, proposing a men’s competition built around four tiers with 32 teams in the top two and 16 in each of the lower two.
Clubs would be placed into groups of eight, playing home and away for a guaranteed 14 matches before entering a knockout phase. Crucially, unlike the short-lived and widely disliked European Super League project, qualification would depend entirely on performance in domestic leagues.
This time, drawing on feedback from the clubs, A22 has proposed a revised proposal with three club competitions and 36 teams each, again qualifying through the traditional domestic route.
A22 wants to deliver the Unify League through its own streaming platform, seeking to achieve maximum exposure – free to view, with an ad-free option for subscribers.
At this moment, the French Ligue 1 is employing an in-house streaming platform to broadcast league matches following the collapse of the rights deal with DAZN, but it’s the only major league to do so and revenues for French clubs have dropped.
In terms of governance, A22 proposed to leave the current landscape – from UEFA decision-making bodies to EFC intact, but demands the establishment of a ‘League Board of Directors’.
“This Board would have the right to veto decisions regarding changes to format, revenue distribution, and decisions impacting commercial and sporting aspects of the competition.
“Further, to improve transparency in disciplinary processes related to financial sustainability or other issues, the League Board would appoint three independent advisors to participate in relevant UEFA proceedings involving clubs above a certain revenue threshold.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at [email protected]