The head of the European Super League (ESL), Anas Laghrari, announced that they had enough club support to start a breakaway league.
Laghrari, who co-owns A22 Management, the company that promotes the European Super League, has made the bold claim that it has the approval of around 20 clubs across Europe, enough to start a new breakaway league.
The ESL chief further mentioned that they still need to communicate with all stakeholders including fan associations to understand the project, but remained confident of launching the tournament soon.
Laghrari shared with Ouest-France: “Since December 21, we have talked to about 50 different clubs. About 20 of them were very interested in the project. We have enough clubs to start the tournament.”
He added: “A club has made its commitment, but has issued a statement opposing it. They told us: ‘It’s exactly like when you confirm a new coach and fire him in the following weeks.
“Once people understand that it would be much fairer to have a true European tournament, they will move towards this model.”
On December 21, 2023, the European Court of Justice (EJC) ruled against Super League when they declared that blocking the formation of the league was contrary to EU law. The decision is a blow to FIFA and UEFA, who have vehemently opposed the establishment of the new tournament first proposed in April 2021.
Despite the ECJ’s ruling last month, most of Europe’s top clubs – with the exception of Real Madrid and Barcelona – issued statements rejecting the new breakaway league. It remains to be seen whether they will now turn around and decide to join ESL?
