As soon as the decision of the Court of Justice of the EU was delivered this Thursday morning, the company A22 Sports drew up its proposal for a new competition. The latter “will be played in the middle of the week with participation based on sporting merit”, specify the organizers from the outset, while the concept of a closed league imagined in 2021 had led to an outcry across Europe. .
A women’s edition with 32 teams
This new competition would include 64 clubs, divided into three leagues: the first two, the Star League and the Gold League, made up of 16 teams each, and the third, the Blue League, of 32 teams. “Clubs play home and away in groups of 8, which gives a minimum of 14 matches per club each year,” describes the press release sent.
At the end of the season, a knockout phase will determine the champions of each league, with a system of ups and downs between the three. Access to the third division of this competition “will be based on the results obtained in the national championship”. A women’s edition is also planned, with 32 clubs divided into two leagues.
As for the broadcast of matches, A22 Sports promises completely free access, via a streaming platform called Unify. “Football is the popular sport par excellence but fans are forced to buy overpriced subscriptions. The entire system must be rethought, believes boss Bernd Reichart. Other entertainment options are constantly improving their content offerings and football needs fresh ideas, especially to attract young people. We want to introduce this exciting competition to fans around the world, providing them with easy access to the best matches and an unrivaled experience. »
So much for the packaging, because as for the details, we will apparently have to wait a bit. During its press conference organized this afternoon, A22 did not give the names of clubs which would already be interested, nor details on financing, while the project promises “solidarity payments” of at least minus 400 million euros to European football.