European Super League - Does anybody think this is a good idea?

and another coach wrote:

buzzcolorado wrote:

I would not want to be a player on one of those 12 teams.

Money talks. That super league will be able to pay players essentially whatever they ask for. You think PSG will be able to keep Mbappe when United will be able to offer him 5 times as much as PSG are willing to pay him?

Look how happy Tuchel is:

It'll be an interesting psychological experiment to see if fans will watch the Super League or not, but now everyone is really against it. No fans, no money.

Or the power conferences having their own track championship.

I HATE it.

Total greed. I honestly feel like sports teams should be owned by the community as they are a public good. The idea that some teams should permanently be in the equivalent of the playoffs is absurd.

Ps. I've merged two threads together on this one.

and another coach wrote:

I just can't see all the leagues and governing bodies letting this thing happen, but if it were to happen does anybody outside of the owners of these clubs believe this is a good idea?

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/12279674/man-utd-liverpool-chelsea-arsenal-man-city-and-tottenham-agree-to-join-european-super-league

These clubs, rich with tradition and success, are willing to ruin all they have accomplished for more money? And if this happens, what about clubs like PSG and Bayern who have declined to join but practically have no competition in their country leagues? The only competition they get is in Champion League games.

It's an absolute disgrace.I don't think it's any coincidence that nearly all of the clubs involved are owned by foreigners.

The backlash will haunt these clubs for years.

The best example in the US I could come up with would be in college football...and it's a loose one at that.

Imagine if Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, USC and Notre Dame said "because we are the most popular football teams and have the biggest following we are going to create our own Playoff....and we get to invite 4 other teams into it as we deem fit."

I thought this is a running website.

Can we just discuss running here?

rojo wrote:

I HATE it.

Total greed. I honestly feel like sports teams should be owned by the community as they are a public good. The idea that some teams should permanently be in the equivalent of the playoffs is absurd.

Ps. I've merged two threads together on this one.

Every major soccer league should move this way. The German league requires majority member ownership. Sure, they don't have as much cash to splash around, but it's great for the feel, competitiveness, and sustainability of the league. In fact, now I'm thinking about becoming a member of Dortmund.

The "regional" (national) leagues are qualifiers for the Europe-wide Champions League tournament. The Super League will be 12-15 permanent members plus 5 wild card entries. A better analogy would be the rich teams want an automatic right to enter the NFL playoffs.

Everyone is complaining about it, but everyone will watch. Also, FIFA and UEFA are equally as corrupt, and remember, the EPL is the same rich owners take all nonsense (mostly).

Bayern can't join, as it's mostly fan-owned, and the PSG owner is part of UEFA, IIRC. So yeah I am sure they would love to join but it appears they can't for the time being.

I love the relegation style of football but I also like American sports where still there is some pride at stake, even without relegation.

Love how they announced when no fans were in stadiums ... I also want to know where all the angry pundits were when racism on social media was / is rampant, and players being injured left and right due to fixture congestion earlier in Covid. This is what gets them riled up? Everyone involved sucks.

A lot of people who follow running also follow football, politics, etc.

Also, with the Olympics eventually being canceled what else will we talk about?

I stopped watching European, as opposed to domestic, football when they moved from the European Cup to the badly named "Champions (?)" League. That was a move away from exciting football towards ensuring the big clubs get bigger. Too many dead rubbers between the 4th placed Spanish club against the 3rd placed German club. The latest move will lead to a yawnfest of unwatchable (because of cost and pointlessness). Chuck the teams out of their respective leagues, ban the players from international matches , and then see how the money makers feel.

I couldn't care less, I am a runner.

The interesting part about this will be what the EU will do. There seem to be a couple of legal issues.

And who wants to watch a international league with teams from just 3 countries involved?

Sounds like the baseball "world" series to me.

Curious to see what happens with players. Kinda worried about Pulisic and other star-stripers ahead of the World Cup. American national team needs them so much.

This has the potential of causing a tsunami in the betting markets. Grab your popcorns....

I just saw this:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/20/uk-government-may-legislate-to-stop-european-super-league-says-minister

Let's not forget, FIFA and UEFA are very crooked organizations. So while this would be a blow for fans of football, it will certainly hurt the powers that be in those two footballing association, which isn't a bad thing.

and another coach wrote:

Let's not forget, FIFA and UEFA are very crooked organizations. So while this would be a blow for fans of football, it will certainly hurt the powers that be in those two footballing association, which isn't a bad thing.

Woah woah woah. That is Blasphemy! FIFA, UEFA, the IOC, the NCAA are all well run organizations where ethics and morality are an integral part of their core values.

Uncle Rico wrote:

The best example in the US I could come up with would be in college football...and it's a loose one at that.

Imagine if Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, USC and Notre Dame said "because we are the most popular football teams and have the biggest following we are going to create our own Playoff....and we get to invite 4 other teams into it as we deem fit."

Or in college basketball, if the top 20 programs (Duke, UNC, Kansas, Villanova etc.) said we're no longer going to play in the NCAA tournament. Instead, we're forming our own tournament that the same 20 teams are going to play in every year, and we'll invite 5 other teams each year.

1) It totally guts the NCAA tournament. Who would care about it without the big teams?

2) In any given year, some of those "top 20" programs might not be that good, but they're still in the Super Tournament based on their reputation. Meanwhile, better teams are left out. So the competition is screwed up and the question of who has the best team isn't answered.

3) The money that will now flow to the top 20 teams will allow them to recruit all the best players, and you'll have two tiers of college basketball teams, and the divide between the top 20 teams and the rest is widened.

Great post and example :)