The idea of a European Super League, first raised in 1998, is back on the agenda. Karl-Heinz Rummnenigge, the chief executive of Bayern Munich, raised it at a forum at Bocconi University in Italy.
What he had in mind was a competition, either under the auspices of Uefa or privately run, with 20 or so top clubs from England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. A few games might be played in the United States or Asia.
The idea of a European Super League, first raised in 1998, is back on the agenda. Karl-Heinz Rummnenigge, the chief executive of Bayern Munich, raised it at a forum at Bocconi University in Italy.
What he had in mind was a competition, either under the auspices of Uefa or privately run, with 20 or so top clubs from England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. A few games might be played in the United States or Asia.
Rummenigge is the chairman of the European Club Association which represents top clubs. They see a window of opportunity with a power vacuum at the top of Uefa following the suspension of Michel Platini. Platini managed to keep the top clubs on board with increasing revenues from the Champions League and financial fair play pulling up the ladder behind the established clubs.
However, the Champions League generates £1.2bn annually in broadcasting revenue, whereas America’s NFL is at £5.4bn. Yet market research shows that there are 1.6 billion football fans and only some 150 million NFL fans. Hence, big clubs think that there is unexploited potential.
It may all just be a ploy to extract more concessions from Uefa such as additional places for the strongest leagues or a ‘wild card’ entry for a top club that fails to qualify.