The CJEU’s findings state that “it does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved”
LALIGA stresses that the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) does not sanction the European Super League and that in 2022 UEFA already included a modification to its regulations for the authorisation of new competitions, which is adapted to what the CJEU is now ruling.
Although the promoters of the Super League claim that this judgment is in their favour, the reality is that the CJEU has been clear in stating that “it does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved. The Court, having been asked generally about the FIFA and UEFA rules, does not rule on that specific project in its judgment.”
LALIGA, the only league involved in the proceedings, welcomes this statement, which is in line with the formal position expressed by an unprecedented 23 EU and EEA national governments, who joined the football and sporting community at large in defending the football pyramid against secessionist models such as the so-called European Super League.
The essence of this ruling also aligns with the conclusions of the Advocate General of the CJEU from December 2022, who stated that “although the European Super League Company has the freedom to create its own independent football competition outside the ecosystem of UEFA or FIFA, it cannot, in addition to creating that competition, continue to participate in football competitions organised by FIFA and UEFA without the prior authorisation of those federations.”
“The ruling confirms what we have always said: anyone can organise competitions outside the UEFA and FIFA ecosystem, this cannot be prohibited, and no one has questioned this. The judicial question is the condition for these competitions to be under the UEFA and FIFA ecosystem, i.e. that there must be transparent, clear and objective rules for the approval of new competitions. In 2022, UEFA already established a procedure to authorise new competitions that can be used by the European Super League or any other competition,” said Javier Tebas, President of LALIGA.
Regardless of this ruling, the entire football ecosystem, including players, coaches, leagues, federations, or clubs, have already spoken out loud and clear to say they do not desire a model that perpetuates the participation of a privileged few, restricting the pinnacle of European football to an elite rather than an open sport for all.
The creation of a league designed to enrich the wealthiest clubs and concentrate power to a small number of privileged teams would also result in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and drastically reduce tax revenues for public coffers across the continent.
In this regard, according to the expert report prepared by KPMG, in Spain alone a project like the European Super League would cause a 55% loss in overall revenues for LALIGA and would jeopardise an industry that generates over 194,000 jobs and €8.39 billion in taxes, representing 1.44% of Spain’s GDP.
The European Parliament itself approved a report advocating “for a European model of sport that recognises the need for a strong commitment to integrating the principles of solidarity, sustainability, inclusion, open competition, sporting merit, and equity. Consequently, it strongly opposes segregated competitions that undermine these principles and jeopardise the stability of the sports ecosystem in general.”
Therefore, despite the clear positions expressed by fans, clubs, players, federations, the European Parliament, EU governments, and now the CJEU, to reinforce and ensure the defence of the European football ecosystem, its jobs, contribution to the economy, etc., we urge the European Commission to activate the necessary mechanisms to introduce legislative measures that protect European football from future similar attacks.
It is essential to continue closely collaborating with national federations, leagues, clubs, fans, players, coaches, EU institutions, governments, and other stakeholders to nurture the development of football, promote growth, and preserve the fundamental values that have made European football the resounding success story it is today.
