According to the Financial Times business newspaper, European Football Association UEFA is about to negotiate a deal with the clubs on sharing sponsorship and TV rights. This should prevent the richest European clubs from tearing themselves apart in a separate elite competition.
UEFA would set up a joint venture with the European football clubs in which the TV and sponsorship rights for the Champions League and the Europa League are shared. According to Financial Times, the European Football Association is in advanced discussions about this with the European Club Association (ECA), the interest group of European clubs.
UEFA is in full control of the two European competitions. Every year she distributes 3.25 billion euros in prize money among the participating clubs. The Champions League in particular is the Eldorado, with annual prize money of more than 2 billion euros.
The deal between UEFA and ECA would give both bodies equal say over the management of the commercial rights, allowing clubs to tap into new markets. It concerns, among other things, the TV rights. Football clubs, which are increasingly evolving towards media companies, want a share of the cake to be able to share match images on their own platforms. Purely sporting decisions, such as the rules of the game and the competition format, remain in the hands of UEFA.
Super League
A separate elite competition may start in 2024, when the television contract for the Champions League, among other things, expires.
UEFA, and also the world football association FIFA, are terrified that the biggest European football clubs are tearing themselves off in a separate elite competition without risers and falls. This could possibly come as early as 2024. Then the television contract, in which the competition formula for the Champions League is concretized, expires.
Especially top clubs such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, which are struggling with sky-high debts, are asking for such a lucrative Super League. Recently, The New York Times revealed that a circle of top clubs is in talks with investment bank JP Morgan for funding, which would amount to $ 6 billion. FIFA promptly stated that players who participate in that Super League will be banned from international tournaments.
