Unify League, the new Super League project. The proposal to Fifa and Uefa: what happens and how the tournament works

Rome, 17 December 2024 – A new European competition called Unify League, "whose qualification is inclusive, meritocratic and compatible with the overall calendar". This is the proposal to UEFA and FIFA di A22 Sports Management, the agency that brought the instances of the Superalloy to the European Court of Justice, winning the appeal against UEFA's dominant position.

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Unify League, Request for Recognition

A22 Sports Management – ​​confirms a press release – has announced the presentation of a proposal to UEFA and FIFA to obtain the official recognition of its new European football competitions. According to the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, any competition, whose qualification is inclusive, meritocratic and compatible with the overall calendar, can be officially launched. The proposal incorporates feedback received from a wide range of football stakeholders over the years and in particular following the ECJ ruling. A key feature is the revised qualification system, thanks to which the participation of the clubs is based on the annual performance in national championships. The proposal is also fully aligned with the UEFA definition of the 'European Sporting Model'.

"Football Development"

"A22 is focused on ensuring the sustainable growth and development of football – the words of bernd reichart, CEO of A22 –. Our extensive engagement with key stakeholders has highlighted a number of pressing challenges facing football, including Subscription costs on the rise for the fans, a overloaded calendar for players, underinvestment in women’s football and dissatisfaction with the format and governance of current pan-European competitions. Our proposal is designed to directly address these challenges.”

How the new tournament works

The men's competition includes 96 teams competing over four tournaments: Star, Gold, Blue and Union. This division, according to the organizers, ensures a dynamic and inclusive competition. Star and Gold League include 16 club each, while the Blue and Union Leagues comprise 32 teams each. Each team will participate in a group of 8, with round-trip matches, 14 races guaranteed every season.

At the end of the season each tournament will organize a 8-team final stage with direct elimination to determine the champion clubs, thus adding suspense and importance to the final stage. Annual access from the national championships is foreseen: the clubs will have a path that allows them to compete with the best European teams. The competition is also fully compatible with the current calendar without increases in the number of match days. To avoid any interference with domestic competitions, the matches will be played during the week.

Free match viewing and affordable subscriptions

At the heart of this vision is Unify, the fan-oriented streaming platform, announced in December 2023, which will host all matches live. Unify will offer both the free viewing of matches, supported by ads, as well as affordable premium subscriptions. It will also dramatically improve the home viewing experience eliminating the need for multiple subscriptions and offering fans the advanced features they expect. Finally, it will connect clubs directly with their global fan base for the first time. To concretely demonstrate the project's mission and the importance of the platform, the competitions proposed by A22 have been called 'Unify League'.

Innovation and transparency

“Now is the time for all stakeholders, including UEFA and FIFA, to bring real innovation that gives priority to experience and to the accessibility of fans, to the well-being of the players and the competitive value of the matches – concluded Reichart –. We remain committed to promoting relationships based on mutual respect, transparency and constructive dialogue. Fans, players, clubs, leagues and other groups that make up the football community deserve nothing less.”