ECA and Spanish clubs join growing backlash against A22 Sports Super League plan

November 9 - The backlash from yesterday's meeting between European Super League promoters A22 Sports, UEFA and European football stakeholders continued with the European Club Association (ECA) and a a number of LaLiga clubs who have come out unequivocally against the A22 plan.< /p>

In a statement, the ECA said: "After the end of the 2.5 hour meeting, the ECA remains strongly opposed to the creation of any new so-called super league or breakaway projects. The ECA was strongly opposed to such concepts in April 2021; the same is true in 2022…”

"Gradual reform is an ongoing process, which we insist on every day. As the voice of the clubs, the ECA is at the heart of shaping this reform and believes that change is best driven at the within the current structure, rather than the creation of an elitist separatist league or an unrepresentative corporate PR entity.

Javier Solís, Managing Director of Valencia CF, said: "The concept of the Super League goes against one of the fundamental principles of sport and the competitive narrative that we have known so far. model categorically rejects the desire to achieve, improve, challenge the most powerful clubs and conquer the highest peaks, this is a fundamental element of sport and it is also something that has been very present in the DNA of Valencia CF throughout history".

“Our sector must continue to evolve, seek new sources of income and adapt to new forms of consumption, but the Super League is not the solution for football. this format are precisely those who have most contributed to generating a situation of inflation in the industry, presenting it as an economic solution for themselves, but at the cost of impoverishing others”.

Luis Sabalza, president of CA Osasuna, stressed that moving towards a fairer distribution of income was the way forward, saying that "it is the only way to improve the competitiveness and attractiveness of competitions and, therefore, their value. The Super League is going in the opposite direction and that is why it will fail."

Fernando Roig, president of Villarreal CF, whose club have played in the Champions League four times, says being able to dream of achieving major goals is part of the beauty of the game.

"That there is a certain imposition and that sporting merits are not taken into account is to go against the very essence of sport and, in the end, it is a absolute failure. We are absolutely against the creation of the Super League,” he said.

All stakeholders have so far strongly supported the European sports model of meritocracy which the A22 plan seeks to smash.

Concluding its statement, the ECA said it "will continue to work with all European football stakeholders in a true spirit of collaboration committed to the European sporting model, remaining true to the traditions of openness, transparency and solidarity of European football; and where sporting success is measured and achieved through results on the pitch, constructive collaboration and progressive reform off the pitch."

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