International Soccer's Top Groups Disapprove of Super League
2021-04-20
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1Imagine the World Cup in 2022 without many of the world's best soccer players.
2That might happen.
3Two of world soccer's most powerful organizations are angry with 12 major European soccer clubs and are threatening to ban their players from the World Cup.
4The 12 clubs want to set up their own organization of teams in a league they are calling the Super League.
5But Europe's main soccer body, UEFA, and international soccer's main governing body, FIFA, do not approve of the idea.
6They are considering banning players from the next European championship and the World Cup if their teams go ahead with plans to form the Super League.
7One of the teams is England's Manchester City.
8That team has players from the national teams of England, Spain, France and Germany.
9Others that plan to join the new league include Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal in England; Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain; and Juventus and A.C. Milan in Italy.
10They are among the most famous soccer teams in the world and have players from all over.
11Teams from France and Germany have not yet announced plans to join.
12While 12 teams have already agreed to form the Super League, the organization hopes to start with 15 and then have a total of 20.
13The goal would be to play in a tournament that is similar to UEFA's Champions League.
14The Champions League final is one of the most popular sporting events in the world each year.
15Soccer fans from all over the world watch the game on television.
16Real Madrid's president, Florentino Perez, will be the first leader of the new league.
17It is financially supported by U.S. bank J.P. Morgan, which offered the teams about $4 billion.
18The announcement worried both leaders of European soccer and European political leaders.
19UEFA is led by Aleksander Ceferin.
20He said he plans to ban both the teams and players from his organization's competitions.
21That would include both the Champions League and the upcoming Euro 2020 competition.
22The Euro 2020 will last for a month starting on June 11.
23It was postponed from last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
24Earlier this year, international soccer's governing body, FIFA, said players could be banned from the 2022 World Cup and said Sunday it "disapproved" of the Super League.
25The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wants to stop the league in its current form.
26The leaders of France and Italy also expressed concerns.
27The Super League clubs wrote a letter to UEFA's Ceferin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
28It said the new league wants to "compete with and exist alongside" the other tournaments.
29One of the reasons the teams started the Super League is so they do not have to compete for the right to be in the Champions League.
30The current year's Champions League competition is made up of the top teams from the year before.
31If a famous team, like Manchester United, has a bad season, it will still be guaranteed a spot in the Super League.
32Ceferin said the Super League is only about money.
33He argued UEFA is different because it develops soccer by giving money to teams all over Europe.
34The Super League news comes just a day before the start of a meeting between UEFA officials.
35In the meeting, they were expected to announce the expansion of the Champions League.
36I'm Dan Friedell.
1Imagine the World Cup in 2022 without many of the world's best soccer players. 2That might happen. 3Two of world soccer's most powerful organizations are angry with 12 major European soccer clubs and are threatening to ban their players from the World Cup. 4The 12 clubs want to set up their own organization of teams in a league they are calling the Super League. But Europe's main soccer body, UEFA, and international soccer's main governing body, FIFA, do not approve of the idea. They are considering banning players from the next European championship and the World Cup if their teams go ahead with plans to form the Super League. 5One of the teams is England's Manchester City. That team has players from the national teams of England, Spain, France and Germany. 6Others that plan to join the new league include Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal in England; Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain; and Juventus and A.C. Milan in Italy. They are among the most famous soccer teams in the world and have players from all over. Teams from France and Germany have not yet announced plans to join. 7While 12 teams have already agreed to form the Super League, the organization hopes to start with 15 and then have a total of 20. The goal would be to play in a tournament that is similar to UEFA's Champions League. The Champions League final is one of the most popular sporting events in the world each year. Soccer fans from all over the world watch the game on television. 8Real Madrid's president, Florentino Perez, will be the first leader of the new league. It is financially supported by U.S. bank J.P. Morgan, which offered the teams about $4 billion. The announcement worried both leaders of European soccer and European political leaders. 9UEFA is led by Aleksander Ceferin. He said he plans to ban both the teams and players from his organization's competitions. That would include both the Champions League and the upcoming Euro 2020 competition. The Euro 2020 will last for a month starting on June 11. It was postponed from last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 10Earlier this year, international soccer's governing body, FIFA, said players could be banned from the 2022 World Cup and said Sunday it "disapproved" of the Super League. 11The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wants to stop the league in its current form. The leaders of France and Italy also expressed concerns. 12The Super League clubs wrote a letter to UEFA's Ceferin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. It said the new league wants to "compete with and exist alongside" the other tournaments. 13Why a new league? 14One of the reasons the teams started the Super League is so they do not have to compete for the right to be in the Champions League. The current year's Champions League competition is made up of the top teams from the year before. If a famous team, like Manchester United, has a bad season, it will still be guaranteed a spot in the Super League. 15Ceferin said the Super League is only about money. He argued UEFA is different because it develops soccer by giving money to teams all over Europe. 16The Super League news comes just a day before the start of a meeting between UEFA officials. In the meeting, they were expected to announce the expansion of the Champions League. 17I'm Dan Friedell. 18Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press and Reuters. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 19Would you still watch the Champions League if the Super League starts? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 20_________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22club -n. a sports team or organization; often used to refer to professional teams in Europe 23league -n. a group of sports teams that play against each other 24tournament -n. a sports competition or series of contests that involves many players or teams and that usually continues for at least several days