Sport

European Super League’s failure to mobilise in the PR battle at the heart of its downfall

The chief architects of the controversial project hailed a recent legal ruling as a victory, but they won’t win the war without a change in tack

Fans protest in London in April 2021 after the announcement of the proposed European Super League: the story was quickly framed as a battle for the soul of European football. Picture: Getty

Approximately 32 months after it appeared that the door to the proposed breakaway European Super League (ESL) had been decidedly slammed shut, a recent European court ruling may have reopened it, or at the very least, left the door unlocked.

On December 21, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that football governing bodies Uefa and Fifa had “abused a dominant position” by threatening to impose aggressive sanctions and bans upon the 12 clubs involved ...