The FIFA Super League: A Deep Dive into FIFA's Involvement in a European Breakaway Competition
The FIFA Super League, a proposed European breakaway competition, was a bold and ambitious project that aimed to revolutionize the sport of football. However, the plan was met with widespread criticism and ultimately failed to materialize. The story of the Super League is a fascinating one, and it highlights the complex dynamics between FIFA, the governing body of international football, and the European football clubs and associations.
The term sheet, a document outlining the key terms and conditions of the proposed agreement, reveals a deep involvement of FIFA in the Super League project. The document, dated October 2020, proposes renaming the competition under FIFA's branding and outlines the extent to which FIFA's administration was implicated in the scheme. It also reveals FIFA's willingness to sideline its member associations and push plans to cut back international windows, giving FIFA special governance and political rights with a "golden share".
The term sheet also proposes an annual iteration of FIFA's expanded Club World Cup, tied directly to the Super League. This tournament would have been a straight knockout competition, held over a three-week period, and would have been a significant departure from the existing format. The document suggests that FIFA and the Super League's creators were nearing a conclusion on the agreement, with FIFA staff, including Gianni Infantino, fully aware of the project's progression.
Infantino's involvement in the Super League project is particularly intriguing. After the scheme was launched without FIFA's direct involvement in April 2021, ultimately scrapped following large-scale protests, Infantino addressed UEFA's congress in Montreux, stating that FIFA could "only strongly disapprove the creation of the Super League". However, the evidence of FIFA's outline agreement with the Super League, coupled with Infantino's Football Forward Enterprise scheme, casts doubt on his assertion. It suggests multiple attempts to reshape the game without consulting its most important stakeholders.
The Super League would have contained 15 permanent members and five clubs qualifying from existing competitions. It also committed to creating a women's equivalent, using the same clubs, by an unspecified date. The term sheet refers to FIFA under the name "WO1", which is also the name used in the British army for a high-ranking officer. In a section outlining the agreement's key components, it says the Super League "is open to discuss naming the competition WO1 SL". It also confirms FIFA would be "granted a preferred equity stake in the Super League", giving it decision-making capability on format changes, calendar alterations, distribution of solidarity money, and the appointment of a chief executive for the competition.
The proposal to drastically reduce the number of international windows and squeeze them into two fortnightly spaces each year was met with shock by senior figures within European football. Member associations, many of whom are being courted for support by Infantino as he battles to save his tenure, may have lost commercial opportunities and found themselves at the behest of a privately run club competition. The term sheet also notes "reduction of leagues" as a point for discussion, suggesting a potential reduction in the number of leagues and a new international match calendar devised by FIFA, the Super League, and "other relevant stakeholders" with FIFA's agreement.
The Super League proposal adds to the growing number of privately backed ventures brought to the table by Infantino during his 10-year reign. In 2018, he pressed the case for a $25 billion offer from SoftBank to create an expanded Club World Cup and global Nations League. Close allies within FIFA cautioned him against the plan, which failed to gain support after opposition from Europe. The story of the FIFA Super League is a reminder of the complex and often contentious relationship between FIFA and the European football clubs and associations, and it highlights the challenges of balancing the interests of various stakeholders in the sport.
