LaLiga president Javier Tebas: “The European Super League is the Big Bad Wolf”
A22, promoter of the European Super League, have presented another proposal for the potential new competition, which hasn’t gone down well with Tebas.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has once again taken aim at the European Super League following the announcement in Spanish daily newspaper El País that A22, the company aiming to set up the new competition, had published a new document entitled “Ten principles for a European football league”, which has been signed by A22 CEO Bernt Reichart.
Tebas took to Twitter to make his scepticism at the new proposals abundantly clear, likening the ESL to the Big Bad Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood and European soccer to the young girl herself: “The Super League is the Wolf disguised as Grandma in an effort try to fool European soccer. But ITS nose and ITS teeth are very big,” he wrote, with his message accompanied by an illustration by Brazilian artist Emerson Coe.
La Superliga es el lobo, que hoy se disfraza de abuelita para intentar engañar al fútbol europeo, pero SU nariz y SUS dientes son muy grandes, ¿cuatro divisiones en europa? Claro la primera para ellos, como en la reforma de 2019.¿Gobierno de los clubes? Claro solo de los grandes pic.twitter.com/y0IQmLzS6W
— Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) February 9, 2023
Tebas also questioned various aspects of the Super League proposal. “Four divisions in Europe? And, of course, the top one will be for them, just like in the 2019 reform. Clubs will run it? Of course, only the big ones”, he wrote.
A22 and Bernt Reichart on why change is needed in European soccer
A22 have modified the original plan for the European Super League but still insist that change is needed: “European football is on the brink of the abyss. Huge imbalances have arisen across our continent and traditional European clubs, with a glorious past, today are unable to compete”.
🚨 A22 Sports Management, promoters of the European Super League (ESL) have released a ten-point manifesto outlining their core principles following stakeholder dialogue with around 50 clubs. pic.twitter.com/h5RCZiUjde
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) February 9, 2023
Another go at the European Super League
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“Last October we started an open process of dialogue on the future of European football. Since then we have spoken with almost 50 clubs and other players in the sector and the conclusion shared by almost all of them is that the foundation on which European football is founded is seriously threatened. The time has come to make changes”.
The document presented tackles a wide variety of issues, including access to the competition, the relationship with domestic leagues, the financial sustainability of participating clubs, how to bolster the competition and make it more attractive to a younger audience. There are also sections on women’s football, fans and solidarity between clubs and institutions, including the European Union.