By Hadassa Kalatizadeh
European soccer fans have a new target to pour out their aggression on.
Fans, soccer officials, former players, heads of state, the European Football Federation, and the main soccer leagues across Europe are criticizing JP Morgan Chase for financing a European super league which will break away to form their own competition.
As reported by the NY Times, the banking giant announced Monday that it will be pouring $4.8 billion to fund the top tier soccer league, which will include a dozen top clubs from England, Italy and Spain for a closed continental competition. The super- league, as it is being dubbed, has been in the making for years, but the rock-hard manner in which it is now being funded comes as a shock to many European sports fans.
“If your bank is @jpmorgan you simply have to move your money elsewhere,” one fan posted on Twitter. “Say NO to the #SuperLeague.” Fans are especially irked that an American corporation should jump in and make such a drastic change to their beloved sport. The idea, however, did not originate from any American, but rather from the billionaire president of Real Madrid soccer team, Florentino Pérez. As per the Times, in the past Pérez had gotten help from JPMorgan to finance the renovation of his club’s stadium. Now, he has turned to the Wall Street bank to lend to clubs controlled by American owners, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, which are three of the six English clubs becoming founding members in the new league. The planned league would basically make performance based promotions and demotions a thing of the past, changing the sport to mimic American sports leagues. With American banks backing them, it “smacks of the N.F.L. template,” noted one British commentator.
Dignitaries including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron, have spoken out against the league. The UEFA has already barred them from competing in all other domestic, European and international competitions. Players in the ‘super league’ could also be barred from representing their country. In response, the Super League company has already filed motions with several courts to contest any attempts to halt their project. The team says they hope to start as soon as possible and aim for a 20-team league, with five added clubs joining per season.
