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Football fan fury over European Super League

Football / Soccer - Level 0

Europe's top football clubs created a super league. It fell apart less than 48 hours later. The European Super League made fans, players and managers angry. The British Prime Minister was angry. He said the new league would destroy football. Many football fans protested. They said greedy club owners created the ESL.

Top teams from England, Spain and Italy joined the ESL. No teams from Germany and France joined. This made it less European. In Germany, fans own 51 per cent of their teams. Fan power is big. The UK government said it would take action to stop the ESL. FIFA could ban players who played in the ESL from the World Cup.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Football / Soccer - Level 1

Europe's top football clubs created a super league. It fell apart less than 48 hours later. The richest teams in Europe said they would start the European Super League in August. This made fans, players and managers angry. Even the British Prime Minister was angry. He said the new league would destroy football. The worldwide anger made the clubs pull out of the ESL. Many football fans protested. They said greedy club owners created the ESL.

Six of England's richest teams and top teams from Spain and Italy agreed to join the ESL. No teams from Germany and France joined. This made it less European. In Germany, teams are 51-per-cent owned by fans, so fan power is big. The UK government said it would take action to stop the ESL. Premier League clubs want the six English clubs to leave their league. FIFA said it might ban players who played in the ESL from the World Cup.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Football / Soccer - Level 2

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Europe's top football clubs created a breakaway super league but it fell apart less than 48 hours after it launched. A group of 12 of the richest teams in Europe announced they would take part in the European Super League (ESL) starting in August. This made fans, players and managers furious. Even the British Prime Minister and Britain's Prince William were angry. They said the new league would destroy football. There has been so much anger that the clubs pulled out of the ESL. This was because of protests by fans, who said the ESL was created by greedy club owners.

Six of England's richest teams agreed to join the breakaway ESL, including Manchester United and Liverpool. Top teams from Spain, like Barcelona, and Italy also signed up. No teams from Germany and France joined. This made it less European. In Germany, teams are 51-per-cent owned by fans, so fan power is big. The UK government said it would take whatever action is necessary, including legal action, to stop the ESL. Premier League clubs want to expel the six English clubs from their league. FIFA said players who played in the ESL could be banned from the World Cup.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Football / Soccer - Level 3

The plan created by Europe's top football clubs to create a breakaway super league seems to be falling apart less than 48 hours after it was launched. A group of 12 of the richest football teams in Europe announced they would take part in the European Super League (ESL) starting in August. This created fury among fans, players, managers, Premier League teams and even the British Prime Minister and Britain's Prince William. They all said the new league would destroy football. They said it was created by greedy club owners. There has been so much anger that top clubs Chelsea and Manchester City are already preparing to withdraw from the ESL due to a backlash from fans.

Six of England's richest teams agreed to participate in the breakaway ESL, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Top teams from Spain (including Barcelona) and Italy also signed up. No teams from Germany and France are involved, making the ESL less European. In Germany, teams are 51-per-cent owned by fans, so fan power is bigger in Germany than in England. The UK government said it will take "whatever action is necessary," including legal options, to stop the ESL. Fourteen Premier League clubs said they would take legal action to expel the six English clubs from the Premier League. Football's governing bodies FIFA and UEFA said players who played in the ESL could be banned from the World Cup.

* At the time of uploading this lesson, nine of the 12 teams have withdrawn from the ESL.

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