Thursday sees the decision on how viable a European Super League will be, and there’s likely to be literally millions of people waiting to hear the verdict.
It’s been a long time coming, however, it could have a major impact on football on the continent in the future if the decision goes the way of A22, who are a sports management company that was formed to sponsor and assist in the creation of the European Super League.
Even if it does, it’s difficult to see where things go next as many of the original expected participants withdrew after a backlash from their own fans.
To date, only Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus are believed to have not left the project, but their future involvement is unclear until the decision is made public.
Former super agent and co-creator of the Premier League, Jon Smith, believes that dialogue and discussion are the way forward.
“Regarding the Super League, when you sign up to be part of the football community, you agree to abide by their rules,” he said in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside.
“So on the one hand, the court on Thursday could say, well, you’ve already agreed to abide by the rules and you’re just trying to break them, so the answer’s no.
“On the other hand, in 2023, restriction of the ability to trade and advance that trade is of sizeable consequence. Why shouldn’t people be able to come forward from outside of the UEFA and FIFA framework and bring new ideas to the table?
“Don’t forget the people that control the game at the very top across the world are doing very nicely out of controlling the game at the top. They don’t want this change.
“That’s not to say they’re wrong but I think we should listen to everybody.
“We’re in a very interesting environment at the moment where Saudi as a major player is actually beginning to become a bit of a disrupter. And again, I don’t see that as a problem.
“If the courts would allow discussion with the authorities and possibly have an open forum of what is best for the sport in the coming decade, then I don’t see that as a problem rather than just slamming the door and say no, not allowed.
“We should be happy to entertain conversations in the round with all parties about what’s best for the game. Let’s throw it on the table and see what happens.
“Football is doing so well with eyeballs from around the world on the game. We don’t want to lose that in a melee of in-fighting. We want to grow it in a in a manner that intrigues the next generation of football fans – and that means discussion.”
Whichever way the decision goes, it’s unlikely that we’ve heard the last of the Super League.
Perhaps in it’s former or current guises it isn’t a workable solution at present, but as football continues to evolve, there’s a cogent argument that a European Super League would make perfect sense – from a marketing perspective as much as anything else.