How to dust off the Champions League a bit and deal with the sea serpent-shaped project of the European Superleague? Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of PSG since 2011 and of the European Club Association (ECA) since April 2021, has a few plans to revive the shine of the big-eared cup. One of them thus consists in organizing an opening ceremony at each edition, to create the event, on the model used by certain US sports, such as American football.
“I can’t understand how the Super Bowl can seem bigger than the Champions League final,” the Parisian boss told The Athletic. The Super Bowl, and the United States in general, has this spirit, this creativity and this sense of entertainment. That’s what I suggested: have a Champions League opening ceremony, have a game on opening night where the winners face a big team. It might not be a good idea, but at least let’s challenge the status quo. Each game should be an event and entertainment. »
Al-Khelaïfi is firmly opposed to the idea of a closed Superleague that his counterparts from Juventus, Real Madrid or FC Barcelona would see very favorably. In an interview with the BBC, the Qatari leader recently gave them a good tackle. “They know there’s no chance,” he said. People are dying in Ukraine and have nowhere to sleep, and we are fighting for the Super League? »
The Parisian president also returned to the agreement signed by the Professional Football League (LFP) with the CVC investment fund for the creation of a commercial company.
“There are Ligue 1 and Second Division clubs, but also 14 small and medium-sized clubs within Ligue 1 who all have different interests. Some are just thinking about how they are going to pay their players next month. They can’t think long term. CVC, as such, gives us new business ideas, he summarized. It’s an investment fund with new ideas and they want to make money. They are not joking. All the clubs thank PSG because we brought a lot to the call. »
