European Super League Appears Toast After Massive Backlash

April 21st, 2021 - 11:10 AM EDT by Adam Downer

1 comment | Contact Newsroom

European super league teams.

The dream (or nightmare) of the European Super League, tarred by coaches, players, fans and politicians alike as the death of football as we know it, appears to be on the verge of ending after a mere 48 hours of intense backlash.

On Sunday, several major football associations of Europe announced the formation of a European Super League, a sort of American-style soccer league where some of the most globally recognizable teams like Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus would compete in their own season. The next day, the announcement was met with extraordinary protestations from around the football world. Fans saw it as a cynical, greedy cash grab on the part of team owners. Coaches and players of the very teams said to be joining the Super League came out against it. Major football organizations like FIFA and UEFA threatened to ban would-be Super League players and teams from participating in global competitions like the World Cup. Even Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron slammed it, and on Tuesday, the Super League practically disintegrated.

First, word spread that English football club Chelsea were drafting their withdrawal papers. Manchester City became the first team to make their departure official — and then the dominos started falling. All six of the English Premier League teams announced for the Super League announced their withdrawal. Atletico Madrid and AC Milan then withdrew. At present, the only teams to have not officially announced their withdrawals are Barcelona and Real Madrid. Around 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday, plans for the European Super League were officially "suspended."


This set off massive celebrations among the football universe. Fans, players and coaches celebrated maintaining the integrity of the game. Many felt the ESL was anti-competitive, as the top teams in the ESL would not face the threat of relegation to a lower league if they played poorly, nor could less rich clubs join the ESL if they played excellently. Fans of the teams felt the ESL was a spit in the face of the clubs' histories, many of which were started by local communities in the 1800s.


Farewell Super League. You won't be missed.



+ Add a Comment

Comments (1)


Display Comments

Add a Comment


Howdy! You must login or signup first!