Borussia Dortmund reject European Super League proposal
By Tushar Bahl
Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that they will not be joining the breakaway European Super League, with the club committed to the ECA and their plans for a UEFA Champions League reform.
After months of secret talks, it was revealed on Sunday that 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs in the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A will be forming a breakaway European Super League. Their aim is to establish a new midweek tournament, which would be in direct competition to the UEFA Champions League.
The league will have a total of 20 teams, with three more clubs joining the 12 already announced founding members. And a further five teams will qualify for the tournament annually based on their achievements in the prior season. The inaugural season of the competition is “intended to commence as soon as practicable”.
But Borussia Dortmund have rejected the proposed European Super League plans, and are backing the planned Champions League reforms. In a statement on the club’s official website, CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke confirmed his stance. Watzke also added that both Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Munich are united in this stance.
"“The members of the European Club Association (ECA) board met in a virtual conference on Sunday evening and reiterated that the board’s decision of last Friday is still valid,” Watzke said.“This clubs want to implement the planned reform of the UEFA Champions League. It was the clear opinion of the ECA Board members that they reject the plans to create a Super League.”“Both German clubs represented on the ECA Board, FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, had 100% identical views in all discussions.”"
The decision of the 12 clubs to form the European Super League has been heavily condemned by UEFA, FIFA, as well as the various boards of the top five leagues.
UEFA issued a warning to the clubs on Sunday, claiming that teams and players participating in the breakaway tournament would be banned from playing in other domestic and European competitions. And players could even be prevented from representing their national teams.
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UEFA and the ECA are set to introduce reforms to the Champions League from 2024, which will see the number of teams in the competition increase from 32 to 36.