This month, hundreds of club representatives gathered in Rome for the 32nd General Assembly of the European Club Association (ECA).
One notably absent agenda item drew particular attention: no mention was made of the potential return of the European Super League (ESL).
Just days before the meeting, a Real Madrid-aligned media outlet reported that UEFA was negotiating with A22, the financial backer of the European Super League (ESL), to resolve their long-standing legal dispute. The report also claimed UEFA was willing to merge its three club competitions into a unified four-tier league system, aligning with A22's 2024 rebranding proposal.
However, all relevant parties interviewed by The Athletic during the Rome meeting believed such a merger “would not happen and should not happen.” UEFA swiftly refuted this claim, emphasizing that any dialogue with A22 constituted informal discussions with no conclusions reached.
While no one mentioned the return of the European Super League project, attendees did discuss a crucial lawsuit A22 is set to face in Madrid's Commercial Court. The core of this case centers on A22's lawsuit against UEFA for its aggressive crackdown on the ESL in 2021. These actions had previously been ruled by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as violating EU competition law. Armed with this favorable ruling, A22 reactivated its related litigation in Spanish courts, where a verdict is now imminent.
Could this victory revive the “unified league” concept? Perhaps. But the consensus emerging from the Rome meeting is that A22 will likely secure substantial compensation through this lawsuit, and the clubs will leverage this victory to demand greater control over UEFA competitions. In other words, this scenario of clubs seeking more rights from UEFA is a recurring theme that has played out repeatedly over decades.