European Super League is BACK in new £2.7BILLION ‘Unify League’ format… and it could replace Champions League
A NEW version of the breakaway Super League has been launched.
More than three years after the original idea crashed and burned in the space of 48 hours after a fan-led backlash, scheme promoters A22 have returned with a concept that answers many of the initial problems.
Under the new model, named “The Unify League”, 96 teams in total would take part.
There would be 16 teams, split into two groups of eight and playing each opponent home and away, in both the top tier Star League and the secondary Gold League.
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Then two further competitions - Blue and Union - would each have FOUR leagues of eight clubs.
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The Premier League would have three guaranteed entrants in the elite competition, with two places in the second one and up to five further slots across the remaining pair.
Unlike the first and widely criticised Super League concept, which saw the 12 breakaway rebels - including the Prem Big Six - guaranteed entry, all positions will be earned by domestic performances in the previous campaign.
Two places in the Star League, and seven in Gold, will be earned through a series of play-off rounds, with the winners of the two competitions earning automatic places in the top tier for the following season.
A22 envisages the 14 league phase games being played between September and April.
The top four in each group would then reach a two-legged quarter-final stage, with the winners progressing to a “final four” week of one-off matches to provide the winners.
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How does the Unify League work?
A NEW version of the European Super League has been proposed - now branded as the Unify League. Here's all you need to know about how it works...
Who plays in it?
The proposed competition would see 96 teams from across Europe taking part each year.
All positions will be earned by performances in domestic competitions the previous campaign - just as it currently is with the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
What's the format?
There would be FOUR leagues: Star League, Gold League, Blue League and Union League.
The top two divisions, Star and Gold, would each have 16 teams in them, split into two groups of eight.
The groups of eight would play each other home and away, a total of 14 matches per club each season.
The bottom two divisions, Blue and Union, would have 32 teams each, split into four groups of eight.
They would also play each other home and away.
In the Star and Gold leagues, the top four of each group would play a two-legged quarter-final.
In the Blue and Union, it would be the top two teams from each group making up the quarter-finals.
The winners of those matches would then progress to a "final four" week of one off matches to provide the champions of the four different leagues. Those games would be played on a neutral ground.
How many English teams will take part?
The Premier League would have three guaranteed entrants in the Star League.
Two English teams would go into the Gold League.
Up to five further slots for Prem teams would be spread across the remaining pair.
While no formal start date has been set, SunSport understands that there is a provisional target of competition launch in September 2026.
The prize fund is also yet to be confirmed but A22 - which is firmly linked to the ambitions of Real Madrid President Florentino Perez - promise £330m in “solidarity” payments to smaller clubs and countries while the total prize pot is expected to exceed the current fund of £2bn for the Champions League and £700m for the Europa and Conference Leagues combined.
The new overall title of the four competitions is a nod to the plan to show matches on a direct-to-fan streaming service called the Unify platform.
While fans will have to sign up, there will be two versions available - an advertisement-supported free portal to watch games plus a subscription service with extra features.
A22 said it will “dramatically improve the viewing experience at home by eliminating the need for multiple subscriptions while offering fans the advanced features they have come to expect and directly connect clubs with their global fanbase”.
The launch comes as A22 said it had made a formal submission to Uefa and Fifa to “obtain official recognition for its new cross-border European club football competitions”.
The Madrid-based company cited the December 2023 ruling of the European Court of Justice which stated that “any competition where qualification is inclusive and meritocratic, and which complies with the overall match calendar can be officially established”.
A22 representatives have criss-crossed Europe to talk to clubs in the aftermath of the failure of the first project - which saw then-PM Boris Johnson promise a “legislative bombshell” to prevent English clubs from joining.
Measures to block clubs from joining any breakaway competition are included as part of the Government’s new Independent Football Regulator, currently going through Parliament and backed by all major parties.
But the new competition seeks to supplant Uefa and be club-run - in much the same way as the Premier League was set up more than 30 years ago.
A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart said: “A22 is focused on ensuring the sustainable growth and development of football.
“Our extensive engagement with key stakeholders revealed a number of pressing challenges facing the sport including increasing subscription costs for fans, an overloaded player calendar, insufficient investment in women’s football, and dissatisfaction with the format and governance of the current pan-European competitions.
“Our proposal is designed to directly address these challenges.”
Will the Unify League get off the ground?
By Martin Lipton
The biggest complaint about the original European Super League was it was a closed shop.
But the Unify League proposal would see teams qualify on merit, just as they do for the current Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
But whether people accept it is another matter.
Many people will still think this is just another version of the same old thing, the rich wanting to get richer.
Maybe that's right, but I can see the appeal for the clubs here - one of which will be a prize fund much bigger than what is currently offered for competing in Europe.
I think there's a genuine chance that this could be the first thing that brings down the UEFA dominance of club competitions.
But there are a lot of obstacles in the way.
It's proposed that it could start in September 2026.
I don't believe it can be as quick as 18 months, but money talks.
We are into uncharted territory.
This is very different from April 2021 when the whole thing crashed and burned so quickly.
This could be real.
This could happen and if it did, would change the face of football.
Fans remain sceptical of the idea and have voiced their concerns.
One said: "Perez doesn't take no for an answer, does he???"
Another added: "Rubbish, no-one wants this. Stop this nonsense now."
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A third wrote: "Massive waste of everyone's time. As useless as the new World Club Cup. Stop trying to please faceless clubs. Fans wants competitive local football."
And another commented: "At least the Super League sounded good. This is awful marketing."