Super League
Yesterday, a few big football clubs announced a new „Super League“. The outrage has been enormous.
Yet, the league will happen.
First, one has to look at the owner‘s of clubs. They‘re either driven by deep financial needs (Barcelona, Real Madrid) or without any ties to the European tradition of football — Juve being the one exception. Agnelli being the opportunist he‘s always been.
Second, it‘s interesting to note that proposed scheme reflects the current top american leagues with one exception. They will take place mid-week. Will this guarantee enough time to marketize? There‘s a reason why matches usually take place on weekends.
Hype requires an constant inflow of talent. Will there also be some form of College Football? Is this considered? Maybe the play comes too late, as a battle of Messi and Ronaldo might have been an attractor to a super league some years ago? But now?
Third, the current scheme of football has a lot of costs and risks attached those owners in their short-terminism don‘t care about. National teams being the first and foremost mention.
Fourth, the outrage of fans and pundits is incorporated and doesn‘t matter. The competition is already global, and the riches are earned in Asia. So fans over there matter as much, and they don‘t care about the tradition as they don‘t have the tacit knowledge to understand. The imagery and infrastructure of the clubs taking part carries enough symbolism for them.
The „Super League“ is the next logical step following the Asia tours of the likes.
Fifth, the „Super League“ will be boring. No relegation is just one part of this. Another will be metrics like playtime. If one looks at the @nba or @nfl, the matches are long but short on action. It‘s about the span of attention that can be advertised.
Sixth, given the global nature of football and the bifurication of Advanced Economies the clubs won‘t have problems to attract talent. Their youth centers offer enough perspective and foreign viewers don‘t care about nationalites.
Seventh, will players care in case @fifa really disallows them to participate in their national teams? If yes, there‘s a real danger that the „Super League“ goes down the way of the Chinese, Saudi-Arabian or American league. Will @harland — at the beginning of his career — move to a „Super League“? Is it really just the money?
Eigth, for players it might be a devils bargain. Their bargaining power will be tested, there‘s a reason the big leagues in the US have strong player unions. But they will also loose out, in case the league fails, as owners might loose interest and payments will fall.
Ninth, it might be a smart move for @bayern and @psg to stay out so far. There are still lots of clubs with renomee left: AS Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Sevilla, Marseille, Monaco; and new clubs might arise given their chance. Attention is still plenty available. And that might mean easier access to the riches of Champions League and given the competition payments to players might also fall.
Tenth, there‘s a risk of a „Schweinezyklus“. Meaning the damage will already be done, and the wrongdoers will already have moved on. The stakes for the owners aren’t really high as it resembles a typical Private Equity play.
Eleventh, there‘s a big discrepancy. The season holder‘s so far have sold their tickets for matches against smaller teams to foreign visitors, and focused on the big games. Yet, they‘ll probably be the ones arguing big against the „Super League“.
Twelvth, where will the league be incorporated? This might not just be about moving on from @uefa and @fifa but also European regulations — think Bosman et al.
The player‘s reaction will really be interesting. It‘s important to keep the discussion going, and make the „Super League“ members position themselves.
The player‘s reaction is the one big unknown. But the big ones will probably move with, Ronaldo being the first. Also, how will fans at Real Madrid and Barcelona react? How big is their influence really? And how will the „traitors“ bow down, in case of a defeat?