Fifa and all six of the continental confederations of football have rejected an emphatic saying on the move to big clubs that form a breakaway from the European Super League, saying a business will not be ratified by any governing body.
The statement, made by the presidents of Fifa and Uefa, Gianni Infantino and Alexander Ceferin, and those of the other five international confederations, says that because none of them will endorse such a league, players and clubs participating in it will effectively be football-illegal.
“In light of the recent media speculation about the creation of a closed European ‘Super League’ by some European clubs, Fifa and the six confederations want to reiterate and emphasize that a competition is not through Fifa or the respective confederations,” reads the joint statement.
“As a result, any club or player involved in such competition may not participate in any competition organized by Fifa or their respective confederations.”
Few major European clubs have been interested in a breakaway Super League as they are in talks with Uefa over the expansion of the Champions League format in 2024, when the agreed-upon football calendar ends. Nevertheless, there are reports that the bank has asked JP Morgan to investigate the financial possibilities of a ‘European Premier League’, a project initiated according to Real Madrid. At the end of October, the outgoing president of Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu, dropped the bomb in his last speech that the club, according to him, “accepted a proposal to participate in a future European Super League”.
Manchester United and Liverpool are apparently among the potential participants in the breakaway, but they have distanced themselves from it. Ed Woodward, United’s vice-chairman, said at a supporters’ forum in November that he was’ focused on … strengthening existing Uefa club competitions’.
Some reports have suggested that Fifa, which is refurbishing its Club World Cup format, is gaining support for supporting a European Super League, although Fifa sources said they were surprised and unaware of the initiative.
Now they have made their opposition explicit in an effort to ensure that all clubs remain within football’s official governing body structures.