CEO of A22, the company that is organising the Superleague, Bernd Reichart has been doing the media rounds over the past 24 hours, as he seeks to spread the Superleague word. On Thursday morning, A22 presented their proposal for the Superleague format, although they did admit that it could change.
There have been some aspects that have been praised, such as the women’s competition receiving equal footing as the men’s on their bespoke media platform, as well as games being free to air. However the format of the league remains the key question for many.
It would be highly improbable that top teams under their new format could lose out, with only one of each eight-team group being relegated each season, ensuring that top clubs remain at the top of the pile. However there was also little clarity on how domestic performance would lead to qualification. Those that do qualify will have to start at the bottom of the pile, no matter how they do domestically.
Case in point being Girona. Having a phenomenal season, it was put to Reichart on Cadena SER that if Girona were to win La Liga, then they would start in the third tier of the competition.
“It’s fair. Why should Girona FC enter the Star [top] category and the champion who wins the Austrian league, for example, has to play three previous phases in the summer just to get to the brink again and again?”
“We want the same right for all championships in Europe and the same direct access to European competition,” Reichart claimed.
He also spoke of the financial benefits of being in Europe under their new system, even if it is in the blue league [bottom division]. His point of view was that clubs struggle to plan without the security of knowing whether they are to be in Europe the following season, which is no doubt true.
“This way they could consolidate their European dream. They have the great advantage of playing an entire season of at least 14 games to establish themselves and consolidate themselves in Europe and, in the second year, aspire to rise to begin becoming an important team in European football.”
It still seems a long way from meritocratic that a league winner would not have direct access to the top league system. Reichart’s words also speak to the idea that bigger clubs have a divine right to be in Europe, rather than having the jeopardy of losing their position in Europe should they underperform. There was also no clarity on whether there would be a limit on the number of teams from one country, meaning there is a conceivable situation where 10-15 clubs from one country could make up the European pot.
