FIFA execs "are set to claim that a revamped Club World Cup would lead to the threat of a breakaway European Super League receding," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. Senior figures inside FIFA said that a new Club World Cup "could persuade leading clubs" that they do not need to break away, as the winning club could earn $100M from the new competition. A task force is being set up to look into the plan, "which has been strongly opposed" by UEFA, with a decision due in March. FIFA is expected to tell the task force that a revamped Club World Cup "would see control of the tournament remaining at a governing body instead of a purely commercial operation," with at least money from the competition going back into football development. FIFA would "also insist" on the tournament not being a "closed shop" so that no club "could be guaranteed to be included" (LONDON TIMES, 11/5).
Aleksander Ceferin said that a European Super League "would damage football worldwide."GETTY IMAGES
PUTTING UP A FIGHT: ESPN.com's Stephan Uersfeld reported UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said that he will "fight against" the idea of a European Super League "as long as he is at the top" of the organization. Ceferin: "It would damage football worldwide. It would be boring. To see Juve vs. Bayern every week would be more boring than let's say Juve vs. Torino. It's no question for me that I will fight and do all I can against such a league for as long as I am here. If we are talking about a closed system, we can forget about solidarity and the development of football. In the long run, the clubs would be the losers." Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge "rejected reports of the club's push for such a league." He said, "I am not aware of any Super League news. We neither have any knowledge about this nor have we participated in any talks. That's out of the question for us" (ESPN.com, 11/5).
