Bernd Reichart, the CEO of the company that is working alongside top European clubs on the Super League proposal, believes that the possibility of a dialogue with football’s governing bodies has opened up.
Speaking to Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport in an interview published in today’s print edition, Reichart explained that the plan is being reformatted to include more promotion and relegation, and that they believe that they can open talks with UEFA and FIFA.
Last April, twelve major European clubs including Serie A trio Inter, AC Milan, and Juventus proposed a breakaway competition called the Super League.
The announcement received a negative reception from fans, as well as from Europe’s governing bodies.
One of the principle issues that many had with the proposal was the closed-off nature of the competition, which did not include a process of qualification, promotion, and relegation as in existing European competitions.
As Reichart explained, this is something the clubs will address in their renewed proposal, and he expects that UEFA and FIFA will prove more open to negotiations.
“I got encouraging reactions in the first forty-eight hours of my assignment,” he said.
“The world of football has appreciated our open approach to honest and fair discussion, in which I try to focus attention on what’s happening in European football, transformations that threaten to make it less relevant and deprive clubs of revenue.”
“The climate of threats and sanctions, immediately put in place by UEFA and some governments, had prevented the setting up of a real discussion,” he added.
“And then today we’re ready to present an evolved project, with an open project and a completely different approach.”
Reichart and A22, along with the clubs, plans to propose “An open tournament, with relegation and promotion, which can be more attractive to fans, more engaging globally.”
“But we’re here to listen,” he continued, “to analyze everyone’s ideas and not to impose a single format, rather to build it together.”
Asked if he expects to speak with UEFA, Reichart said “Yes. Well, if he wants to, obviously.”
“At the moment we have sent him a letter that he’s received and made it known that he will reply in due time.”
And as far as whether there is a plan to speak with FIFA, he replied “Of course.”
