On Sunday, the Premier League wrote to clubs that its rules prevent clubs from joining competitions without its approval and urging them to distance themselves from any Super League. Serie A on Sunday held an emergency board meeting to discuss the threat of a Super League. Juventus issued a “no comment” reply when contacted on Sunday by the AP about the Super League plans that first emerged in January. Creating a 20-team annual competition would include 15 top clubs as permanent members. The five other teams would vary each season, although the qualification method has not been determined.
Each of the 15 founding members would get a share of at least 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) in initial infrastructure grants. The money would be split among four tiers of clubs, with the top six each getting 350 million euros ($420 million).
The competition would begin with two groups of 10 teams, with the top four from each group advancing to the quarterfinals. That would guarantee 18 annual Super League matches, compared to a minimum of ten games in the planned new-look Champions League group stage.
Apart from the final, the games would be played in midweek like the current Champions League, allowing them to still play in domestic competitions.
This latest Super League proposal hopes to generate 4 billion euros ($4.86 billion) annually from broadcasters. In comparison, UEFA most recently reported making a combined 3.25 billion euros from selling the rights to the Champions League, Europa League, and UEFA Super Cup.
The 15 founding clubs of the new competition would take the most significant slice of the broadcasting revenue.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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