A statement has been sent out by the 12 Founding Clubs of the Super League, including Juventus, Inter and Milan, while PSG and German clubs refused to join the new competition. Follow the live updates.
A statement has been sent out by the 12 Founding Clubs of the Super League, including Juventus, Inter and Milan, while PSG and German clubs refused to join the new competition. Follow the live updates.
The clubs that announced the Super League left ECA, and its President Andrea Agnelli resigned, becoming the Super League vice president along with Manchester United’s co-chairman Joel Glazer.
Real Madrid Chairman Florentino Perez has been named Super League President.
The clubs have released a joint statement announcing the tournament’s format, which is:
– 20 participating clubs with 15 Founding Clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season.
– Midweek fixtures with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional domestic match calendar, which remains at the heart of the club game.
– An August start with clubs participating in two groups of ten, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter-finals. Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions. A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.
UEFA warned players and clubs participating in the tournament would be banned from any other competition, at a national and international level.
FIFA released a statement expressing its ‘disapproval’, but also urging ‘calm, constructive and balanced dialogue for the good of the game.’
PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich refused to join the new competition, while the Lega Serie A held an extraordinary meeting on Monday morning deciding that the possible measures they will take against the three clubs participating in the tournament won’t concern the current league.
La Liga and the Premier League have released official statements to stand against the Super League.
Luis Figo, Giuseppe Rossi, Mesut Ozil, Gary Neville and Lukas Podolski are among the players and former players who have criticised the position of the 12 clubs involved.
Check out their reactions here, and stay tuned to watch this space for all the latest updates about the Super League.
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