Towards the end of April, twelve of Europe’s leading clubs announced the formation of a new football league called the European Super League. The football league would have comprised twenty of Europe’s top football teams – however, only 5 would be entered based on ‘sporting achievement’. The teams would have played their home and away fixtures in the middle of the week and the league was set to begin in August. The Super league was created to rival the infamous Champions league; This league has been around for almost 66 years!

Only a day later, the league started to collapse. On the nineteenth of April Europe woke up to mass supporter protests around stadiums with banners and crowds chanting and denouncing the greed. Anger erupted all over the world. Plans to boycott football clubs merchandise were already under way. Fans from the premier league clubs who had joined the super league described it as “unforgivable” and the “ultimate betrayal”.

The same opinion was seen from the pundits as they also made their opinions heard. Manchester City defender Micah Richards said the new competition had sidelined fans. “What happens to the memories of what the fans have had over the years?” Richards said. “They’re just forgotten about for the sake of money, and that’s the way football has become now. I think it’s an absolute disgrace.” Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said he was “sickened” that his former club’s reputation was being “tainted by association” with the Super League.

Now that supporters were familiarised with the backstory behind it all, the super league crumbled under their weight and only a couple of days later, the plans for the league had been cancelled as nearly all of the clubs had pulled out. It is hard to model emotional reactions by the fans to these sorts of things. After COVID-19 it’s easy to see why some of the largest clubs were so eager to participate as the opportunity presented many economic benefits.

The 12 teams that were set to join the elite breakaway league would have been handed between 100 million to 350 million euros ($120 million to $420 million), the Financial Times first reported. The ESL was also set to get $4.2 billion in loan funding from JPMorgan over a 23-year period, but the US investment bank stated it “misjudged” the deal after the bulk of clubs pulled out within 48 hours.

Joining the league would have majorly benefited all involved. Revenue generated from these midweek Super League fixtures would have easily surpassed that of the regular Premier League fixtures. Overall, there are three main sources of revenue which would have been boosted inevitably: broadcasting, commercial, and matchday revenue.

Broadcasting revenue

TV deals are one of the most important sources of income for football clubs. These can be sold domestically and internationally. Leagues, such as the extremely popular English Premier League, own the television distribution rights of all their games. The rights to air the matches are sold to the highest bidder by the football leagues. For most Premier league clubs, this makes up about 70% of their income.

Commercial revenue

Another major income source for clubs revenue. To be simply put, this contains income from sponsorship and merchandising. Big brands pay license fees to football clubs to stick their logos on their shirts. The shirt sponsors on the front and on the arm of the jerseys are also sources of commercial income. COVID-19 had a significant impact on this revenue stream due to shop closures.

Matchday revenue

Furthermore, another important source of income is earned on matchdays. This includes matchday sponsorship, the ball sponsor and ticket revenue. The expensive corporate boxes, which businesses use to entertain guests, as well as food and drink sales, contribute to the total income but this is dependent on the stadium’s size – a larger stadium would earn more matchday revenue. This type of revenue has been affected most by COVID-19 considering all stadiums were forced to close. This may perhaps be why clubs were so quick to jump on the Super League bandwagon…

What is happening now?

Last Wednesday, a joint statement by the Premier League and the Football Association disclosed a £22m figure set to be paid by the six English clubs who committed to form a Super League. The money will go towards supporting grassroots football and community programmes. The clubs have also agreed to an additional £25m fine and a potential 20-point deduction for any similar breakaway in the future.