Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have been nothing if not stubborn about their desire to start a European Superleague, running the risk of severe UEFA sanctions in order to do so. The matter will likely be defined in large part in court, yet there is at least a timeline set for the beginning of the Superleague.
Currently the European Court of Justice is deliberating over a case between the Superleague and UEFA, which will decide if the Superleague can operate as a competitor to the Champions League. Equally, and perhaps most importantly, it will determine if UEFA can hand out sanctions for teams involved. If Aleksander Ceferin can punish those in the Superleague financially and competitively, it may be decisive in whether teams are willing to make the jump.
That decision is due in March of this year. Speaking to Cadena SER (via Sport) Barcelona President Joan Laporta declared that the competition could begin within two years.
“In March or April we will have the CJEU ruling. It will be a very important sentence and, I think, it will benefit the clubs. The Super League will be an open competition. I would not have entered this project if the competition was not open. We want the governance to belong to the clubs. I hope that UEFA will occupy one more chair at the governance table. If the resolution is favourable, I think the Super League will be a reality in 2025.”
It was put to Laporta that with less financial or competitive incentives, the English sides may not want to get involved after bailing on the last project.
“We will have a European competition that competes with the Premier League. I believe that the English teams will not enter at first. We’d love for them to come in, but my opinion is that initially they won’t. And that everything will end with a merger later.”
