Football’s world governing body FIFA has emphatically rejected the idea of a breakaway European ‘Super League’ followed by the threat of a ban from the World Cup for any player that takes part.
Late last year, renewed reports of such a competition surfaced with American banking giant JP Morgan said to be willing to bankroll it.
Some of Europe’s biggest clubs have continuously had discussions around forming a breakaway European Super League meaning they would no longer be playing in the Champions League and Europa League.
The new league would be made up of 15 or 16 permanent members and three or four qualifiers.
However, the only such tournament that will receive official recognition is the Club World Cup according to a joint statement, and any player involved in a breakaway event would be barred from being involved in official competitions.
The statement read: “In light of recent media speculation about the creation of a closed European ‘Super League’ by some European clubs, FIFA and the six confederations once again would like to reiterate and strongly emphasise that such a competition would not be recognised by either FIFA or the respective confederation.
“Any club or player involved in such a competition would as a consequence not be allowed to participate in any competition organised by FIFA or their respective confederation.”
The statement added: “The universal principles of sporting merit, solidarity, promotion and relegation, and subsidiarity are the foundation of the football pyramid that ensures football’s global success and are, as such, enshrined in the FIFA and confederation statutes.
“Football has a long and successful history thanks to these principles. Participation in global and continental competitions should always be won on the pitch.”
It shouldn’t be like dat