If there is a common thread woven through all European cultures, it must be football, right? Perhaps in popular theory. But conventional wisdom now hangs in the balance, as the pursuit of the almighty dollar, i.e. the ultimate euro, has eroded the very fabric of soccer (no offense to Pete Rozelle, but let’s call it what it really is: soccer). As “European integration” becomes a buzzword for the 21st century, football is likely to play an integral role in facilitating or slowing down this cultural, political and economic fusion of countries.

Soccer club owners have offered to help the cause by composing a framework for the future European Super League, which would consist of the region’s most elite franchises. Europe has already made a transformation in showcasing athletics, whether its riotous fans are willing, as investors rally to protect their shares in perhaps the most anticipated “money-maker” in sports-entertainment.

However, even the top managers of football have their doubts. FIFA president Sepp Blatter, arguably the most powerful man in world soccer, has voiced his staunch opposition to a breakaway super league.

Regardless, sports business experts insist that any successful venture into soccer integration would require the solidarity of ownership politics and fan involvement. True, the first condition is already growing at an explosive rate. Corporate investors have estimated the economic feasibility of supporting ESL franchises in various cities in Europe. Plans have already been proposed to compete with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in forming the most marketable super league. Media Partners International, a Milan-based consulting firm, has secured investments of more than $1.2 billion from JP Morgan to support the ESL for the first three years. Judging by the success of professional sports in the United States, nothing is known of the untapped potential of this league.

If there are still doubts about the growth of European soccer, consider raising player salaries. Inter Milan recently acquired Italian striker Christian Vieri for an estimated $43 million, dwarfing the annual payroll of most professional franchises. And the question of whether Vieri deserved more or less than, say, Michael Jordan (excluding endorsements) is moot. For now, soccer club owners can afford these superstars because consumers are happy with rising ticket prices.

However, ESL owners should not discount the relationship between European fans and their revered teams. Soccer, for countless decades in every country, has provided a measure of national identity. While Europeans, during the integration process, reflect on the empty potential of national traditions, football remains their only source of patriotic autonomy.

If the ESL is approved, UEFA would be subject to abandoning one of its Cup competitions, probably the European Cup Winners’ Cup. More importantly, UEFA is willing to sacrifice two underlying principles that have sustained the organization’s existence: a commitment to split Cup profits equally among all clubs and to televise all matches free of charge to subscribers. Europeans.

The ESL would consist of the top 32 teams in Europe (mostly from large markets) competing in a comprehensive tournament to determine the European soccer champion. If the league is supervised by UEFA, it will have little commercial influence, in which case, some officials suggest that a league without proper promotion or relegation will lose people’s interest in less than three years. But traditionalists insist that UEFA’s policies, while diplomatic in nature, serve to protect the institution of soccer from an onslaught of manipulation by massive corporations.

Even if the ESL and its large market teams manage to grow the sport of soccer to unprecedented financial and social levels, there will undoubtedly be significant ramifications for the remaining franchises. Once again, the income disparity argument between small and large market teams will take center stage. Instead of George Steinbrenner taking on Bud Selig, there will be two other fights, disregarding the fans, the key ingredient of any sport.

The decision of which ownership structure to emulate remains to be determined. The real challenge, at this time, is to secure the support of the regional community. It is clear that the combined prowess of European cultures, not individual national interests, will ultimately guarantee the success of supranational football. Owners cannot and will not force an unnatural means of sports entertainment on their consumers. Most business leaders in the European Union have recognized that integration comes at a cost, a lesson football club owners are about to discover.

Despite the European Commission’s diplomatic efforts to balance competition with equal protection, uproar budgets will continue to question the motives of not just the owners but everyone else involved.

The culmination of ESL may or may not promote European integration, but the fight to protect one of Europe’s most precious assets, soccer, will surely get the job done.

[Originally Printed: Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, 7/24/99]

© 2007 LineDrives.com, Michael Wissot,