The European Super League has been rebranded as the 'Unity League' to challenge UEFA's monopoly on club football in Europe. A22 Sports failed to erect the competition back in 2021 following the withdrawal of numerous teams – now, the Madrid-based company is back with a new proposal.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur joined Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool in signing up for the ESL. The six Premier League clubs were joined by AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid as founding members.
Each of the English top flight sides dropped out of the project following great resistance and backlash from supporters. Three-and-a-half years or so on from the ESL collapse, A22 Sports have returned with a revised project.
In an official statement, they confirmed that a proposal for official recognition of a new European competition has been submitted to UEFA and FIFA. So, with that being said, football.london explains how the Unify League would work and how it impacts Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
What makes the 'Unity League' different from the ESL?
The European Super League was set to be a new midweek competition, which would have rivalled the Champions League. It would have had 20 teams – split into two groups of 10 – with 15 of which being founding members who were guaranteed a permanent place in the division.
So, that would have left space for five other sides to qualify each year. The top three from each group would have qualified for the quarter-finals, with the fourth and fifth-placed teams competing in a two-legged play-off for the two remaining spots.
The ESL would then have the same two-leg knockout format used in the Champions League, with a final in May. A22 Sports' proposal was quickly shut down by pundits, players, MPs and numerous governing bodies.
Supporters also held protests outside their grounds. So, in the 'Unity League', A22 Sports have scrapped the plan to give clubs automatic qualification to the competition.
Instead, there would be annual (domestic) merit-based qualification requirements. Rather than two groups of 10 in the ESL, the 'Unity League' will have four leagues – Star League, Gold League, Blue League and Union League – with 96 participating clubs from 55 UEFA associations.
How would the 'Unity League' work?
As aforementioned, the 'Unity League' would consist of 96 clubs from 55 UEFA associations split across four divisions. The 'Unity League' champions would be a team from either the Star League or the Gold League.
Both of which would house 16 teams divided in both cases into two groups of eight. Those eight would play each other home and away, totalling 14 group stage fixtures.
The top two clubs from each of the four groups would go through to a two-legged quarter-final. Then, there would be a pair of single-game semi-finals at a neutral venue – which would be played in the same week as the eventual final.
The Blue and Union leagues would play a similar knockout format.
How to watch the 'Unity League'?
A22 Sports claim that there would be free live streaming for fans worldwide via a 'Unified' platform on an app – similar to Netflix and Amazon Prime. It's said that subscribers could watch the games for free with adverts – that would be suppressed by paying for a subscription, like Spotify.
An official statement reads: "Central to this vision is the Unify platform, a direct-to-fan streaming service announced in December 2023 that will host all live matches. Unify will offer both free, ad-supported viewing of matches as well as affordable premium subscriptions.
"It will also dramatically improve the viewing experience at home by eliminating the need for multiple subscriptions while offering fans the advanced features they have come to expect.
"Finally, it will directly connect clubs with their global fanbases for the first time. Reflecting the importance of this platform to the project’s mission, the proposed A22 competitions have been named the 'Unify League'."
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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