UEFA and Super League in Talks to Create a New Champions League

Recent reports indicate there have been talks between UEFA and A22, the company behind the Super League, about merging their club competitions and changing football as we know it.

The report – first reported by Mundo Deportivo – suggests the Champions League could turn into a 36-team tournament with two divisions.

UEFA’s top 18 teams would play against each other and the bottom 18 would play in their own competition. It would still be called the Champions League and it could begin as soon as 2027.

Unlike the current format, the broadcasting rights of the matches would not go out to TV stations, but all matches would be streamed using a new digital service called UNIFY which could be free of advertisements or have a very low subscription price.

An ongoing power struggle

These discussions are taking place after years of hostility between UEFA and A22, the organisation behind the ill-fated, ill-conceived European Super League that collapsed in 2021 due to fan protests and political backlash.

That breakaway was seen as a direct challenge to UEFA at the time and although the idea seemed dead, legal manoeuvers have kept the fight alive.

In 2023, the European Court of Justice ruled UEFA’s previous monopoly on competitions was against EU law and A22 took that to mean it could effectively revive its project in a new form.

A22 is now proposing a fresh idea as a compromise. It will be a “peace offering” that allows UEFA to remain in control while ensuring money certainty for big clubs and greater global reach.

But critics think that would only widen the gap between Europe’s large clubs and the smaller clubs that are struggling to survive in the current system.

For now, UEFA says that no agreement has been made and that there are no changes in the Champions League format at this time.

If this actually happens, it might be the end of one of the biggest power struggles in football. Or the start of another one about who really runs the game.