It started the day as either the league that would save football or a spit in the face of the sport.

It ended the day as a footnote in the madness of a Covid period that will barely get a mention in the football equivalent of Reeling in the Years.

The European Super League is no more, at least for now, after all six of the English Premier League clubs that were part of the proposed breakaway stepped back last night and withdrew their commitment.

Chelsea blinked first, as 1,000 fans gathered outside Stamford Bridge to protest.

Then came news of Manchester City and then, like leaves in Autumn, confirmation that Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool were also no longer part of the gang of 12.

Who knows yet if there will be a sting in the tail with any warranties or covenants signed by the clubs in order to get JP Morgan to underwrite the funding to the tune of €6 Billion.

Who knows if it will lead to a change in the arrogance of owners who bought into what they considered to be a business but is instead still, in many ways, a heritage collection rooted in the lives of a vast swathe of the public.

Change happens all the time. Some of the great moments in sport have only come about through innovations that were introduced at the time often to apathy or resistance. The FIFA World Cup is 100 years old in 2030 and rooted in the collective consciousness but many European countries opposed its introduction in the last century.

Ironically as we wrote yesterday in a look at the historical landscape of European football, the English Champions of 1955, Chelsea, were prohibited from taking part in the first European Cup which itself then morphed into the Champions’ League.

Anyway as of this morning the fans can stand down, Boris Johnstone can return to fighting a global pandemic rather than a billionaire’s amusements and the world keep turning.

Meanwhile, in other news, there was a full round of fixtures in the SSE Airtricity Premier League last night. Shamrock Rovers, Sligo Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic sit on top of the table with four wins each and fourteen points.

Wouldn’t it be great to have an equal passion for our local game as for the results of games across the water?

 

Sport for Business Partners