The plans of the European Super League threw the football world into a frenzy since the beginning of the week. Although the proposed breakaway tournament collapsed in 48 hours due to the mass protests across the globe, the after-effects of the incident leave a lot to be pondered.
The Champions League is expected to undergo a revamp to prevent such an uprising from taking place ever again. Reports surfaced yesterday, saying that UEFA is planning to invest a staggering sum worth £6 billion into the tournament to not only improve the standard of the matches but also maximise the amount paid out to the teams. The main reason behind the Super League coming into being was, after all, due to a financial crunch across the continent.
Come 2024, the tournament is also expected to undergo a change with the Swiss format being put into place. As a result, the number of matches will increase to over 200 with 180 matches being played in the group stages as a whole, ten per team.
The coefficient rule which allows prestigious clubs like AC Milan, Tottenham or Arsenal from trying to participate in the Champions League despite them not performing well in the league in the previous season is still sketchy. But, given that the changes are still three years away, anything can happen.
With UEFA also set to relax financial fair play rules in the coming years, there is a very good chance that the impact of money in the sport could shoot up despite the Super League not going through. In that scenario, there is still the risk of fans being branded as ‘customers’, but hopefully they will be back as spectators in the stands soon.
Football is, after all, a game for the fans, as recent times have made clear, and protests could come around any time that such a greedy scheme be put into place to uphold the sanctity and beauty of the sport.
