The pressure on the European sports model has grown since the rulings of the European Court of Justice in December 2023. Among other things, this involved the Super League – which has now presented a survey in its favor
According to this market research conducted by the French institute “Opinion Way” among 6458 soccer fans in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, England and Portugal, 72% of respondents are in favor of the creation of a Super League. This is an astonishingly high figure. In Spain (84%), Portugal (81%) and Italy (80%) in particular, people seem extremely open to the elite project, while supporters in Germany (61%), England (65%) and the Netherlands (67%) are fewer but still in the majority.
A question of age
In light of a survey conducted by Wiesbaden-based institute One8Y in December 2022, this result is surprising. Among the 10,009 soccer fans surveyed in various European countries at the time, only 42% were in favor, and only 38% in Germany. Overall, One8Y found a generational divide across Europe. The project was more popular among under-25s (59%).
“Opinion Way” also makes a similar assumption, only at a higher level: 86% of 15 to 24-year-olds would like to see a Super League, while this figure decreases with increasing age (25-34: 81; 35-49: 75; 50-64: 66; 65 and older: 59).
Has the mood now turned in favor of Super League? Well, you probably shouldn’t compare surveys from different institutions. What stands out in the Opinion Way survey is that 50% of respondents say they have not yet heard of the ECJ ruling in December 2023, according to which the Luxembourg Court of Justice ended UEFA’s monopoly on competition – and yet 77% agree with the ECJ’s decision on the matter. How well-founded such agreement is from a respondent who is unfamiliar with the decision in question is open to debate.
Super League chief lobbyist Bernd Reichart sees “clear evidence that the desire for a European Super League as a much more exciting alternative to the current European club football competition is stronger than ever before”. His agency commissioned the survey and continues to drum up support for the Super League, even though no other club apart from Real Madrid and FC Barcelona has publicly committed to it.
Nevertheless, the ECJ ruling has increased the pressure on UEFA. And the fact that the ECA is flirting fiercely with FIFA in order to capitalize as much as possible on the bloated Club World Cup from 2025 for its clubs should also be seen as an alarm signal in Nyon
