At around 11pm on Sunday night, Singapore time, the footballing world reverberated in shock after a bombshell announcement that 12 Founding members – Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chealsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, AC milan, Inter Milan and Juventus – were all in for a new European Super League.

In this new league, it would be free from the control of UEFA and FIFA and that the clubs would benefit directly from the TV rights revenue. For just accepting the invitation, the clubs will be given $425m and a $3.5B awaiting to be shared amongst the clubs yearly. These numbers are staggering and gives a small insight as to why the clubs mentioned are willing to accept the European Super League (ESL). Most, if not all, are operating on a loss and rely heavily on the money that champions league brings. When this is not met, be it by mismanagement or a decline in club fortune, they are then languished in mediocrity till an owner with funds comes in and who are willing to invest in the teams.

Teams like Chelsea and Manchester City benefitted from such an occasion, whilst a formerly great team that is AC Milan who dominated the 90s and early 00s faded into obscurity. Manchester United, whose own fortunes have been on a decline as compared to pre-Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement have failed on numerous occasion to fulfill their agreement with sponsors in reaching the champions league.

These are just some intricacies of the all-out war the world football is still going through since Sunday night. Locally, there are voices that say, “Why should we care? We should focus on our local leagues and not some league that is not our history nor our traditions”

The answer – Because we grew up dreaming to play in the Big Leagues. Was it possible considering our talent pool? No. But that’s what dreams are made of. We didn’t grow up watching the inspiring Lions filled with legends such as Malek Awab, Abbas Saad or Fandi Ahmad. We grew up watching the English Premier League and its all-out action. When we played football with our friends, we often tried to mimic what it might even feel to be playing on a Champions League match. Is it because we don’t appreciate our local competitive level? No! It is because European football is the pinnacle of the footballing tree. The biggest and most talented players want to reach and play in Europe because of the standards and prestige.

European football gave us unlikely comebacks like Liverpool in Istanbul or even Liverpool against Dortmund in recent years. It gave us memorable matches like Manchester United’s treble season and a last gasp victory. It gave us an Ajax team who inspired and captivated many with their total football and its youth leading the charge. It gave us the all-conquering Barcelona side powered by Busquests, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi; the unheralded dark horses of FC Porto that launched Jose Mourinho as ‘The Special One’. It allowed for teams such as Leicester to reach for the stars through their efforts. It gave us unexpected games like Celtic FC beating FC Barcelona 2-1 despite having less than 30% possession. It gave us a revived Inter Milan who dug in and overcame the mighty Barcelona at the peak of their powers.

What the ESL would do is rob us of that dream, hope and integrity of the sport. Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president who orchestrated this may speak of reassuring promises that the trickledown economics means everyone wins and that this is what the fans want. What he fails to see, or maybe lost sight of, is that the right to earn is what makes these games special. When there is something at stake, it is what makes it tense, suspenseful and dramatic. The ESL removes all that by assuring that these teams will always be there.

Football was meant for everyone because it was a dream that everyone who loved the sport shared. The good, the bad and the beautiful. It connected millions, possibly billions of people, through a shared understanding and love. It gave us – the late Clovis Fernandes also known as the old man holding the world cup trophy who attended every world cup. It gave us the late Mumtaz Amca and Ihsan Teyze also known as the Fenerbache old couple who were big fans of the club and the sport.

Football is bigger than the franchise that the foreign investors are trying to do because at its core, football is the language that for most parts unites people rather than divide. Football even gave us ‘The Christmas Truce’ during the First World War, where soldiers from both sides played football with each other.

We have not even begun to think of what this would mean for each respective leagues and the downward damage it would bring to the footballing ladder. The pathway for success, for many hoping to climb out of poverty, suddenly swept into an exclusive club.

With the formation of the ESL, teams such as West Ham and Everton, who are in Champions League spots this season are then deemed not good enough to play with the Rich boys. ESL teams will only get stronger as they have money that they earned outside of the UEFA system. This leaves everyone as their feeder club.

ESL clubs want2 cakes, the domestic league and the money that ESL brings, at the same time – but doing so means they have an even bigger advantage over every club that is not in the ESL as they cannot match the financial might and in turn compromises the integrity of competition even further.

Yes, FIFA and UEFA are no without their own sets of dirty secrets, but the ESL’s formation would signify that the sport for all is now exclusive only to the rich.

Written by: Baz