FIFA has taken a firm stand against the prospect of top clubs in Europe joining the European Super League. As per a statement from the football’s governing body on January 21, players will be banned from playing in FIFA tournaments if their clubs join breakaway leagues such as European Super League.
Since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, there has been a lot of talk about top clubs holding talks regarding a breakaway league from the usual Champions League. Manchester United chief executive officer Ed Woodward denied such talks, while former Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu confirmed that the Spanish club has decided to join Super League.
The British media reported that top clubs across Europe have been in talks to start a breakaway league in October. Manchester United and Liverpool are reportedly pressing for such a league. However, these reports eventually died down before new murmurs in English media this week about more details about the Super League.
According to The Times, Manchester United and Real Madrid are leading the talks for such a breakaway league which will have 15 founder members while five clubs will qualify every year. The founding members of the league will be getting a mammoth £310 million to join the league.
A move to the super league will be catastrophic for European football as big clubs will become richer and they will not have to worry about qualifying for premier European competition. The introduction of the Super League will affect the competitive spirit of domestic leagues.
UEFA has been planning to expand the Champions League from 2024 to counter the idea of the Super League. FIFA’s plans to ban players don’t make sense as they don’t have any say in the club’s decision to join Super League. Moreover, FIFA will be harming the value of their tournaments if they ban top players from playing in their competitions.