The Unify League’s creation would “destroy” the governance of European football it has been claimed by a football powerhouse.
A22 Sports Management announced the shock European Super League rebrand on Tuesday, spearheaded by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. The advisory firm was previously associated with the controversial European Super League back in 2021, which was roundly panned by the majority of clubs and its supporters.
A22 unveiled its Unify League concept in an open letter to UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis and FIFA General Secretary Mattias Grafstrom, urging cooperation to address major issues in football. According to the letter, the competition will commence alongside domestic leagues and promises free broadcasting. But it would ultimately replace the Champions League rather than interfere with domestic competitions, a major point of contention for UEFA.
But La Liga has spoken out on the controversial proposal, stating it “threatens the governance of European football”. The statement read: “Once again, A22 has presented yet another model of the failed European Super League, now called Unify League. A project that threatens the governance of European football by seeking to follow a handful of big clubs for their own benefit, promoting a broadcast rights commercialisation model that would benefit only a few elitist clubs and destroy the economy of national leagues. The project continues to lack support from clubs, federations, players, fans, national governments and European institutions.”
The December 2023 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) determined that UEFA’s monopoly over European club competitions violated EU competition law. As a result A22 believes that, to its potential benefit, any interested clubs will not have to worry about sanctions if the Unify League is officially recognised by UEFA. Nor, since the CJEU ruling, can clubs be threatened with punishment for simply holding discussions with A22.
This could mean clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City can join without fear of a £25million fine and 30-point deduction that the Premier League threatened three years ago. All six clubs have, however, stated they would not participate in future A22 schemes.