What Is the Unify League? Proposal, Format, Teams | OneFootball

The previously abandoned European Super League is now making headlines once again, this time as the newly named Unify League.

Back in 2021, Madrid-based A22-Sports Management proposed a new league comprised of Europe's top 20 clubs to directly challenge the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City were all linked with the competition before the proposal received massive backlash from fans, UEFA and FIFA.

With the hope of creating a more inclusive tournament, A22 adjusted the original proposal to feature a three-league format of 64 clubs last December. One year later, A22 changed its plans yet again and officially delivered a proposal to both UEFA and FIFA for the Unify League.

What is the Unify League?

The Unify League is the rebranded European Super League. The league would feature a four-league format comprised of 96 clubs. The clubs would have to qualify via their domestic leagues as opposed to receiving permanent spots like the original European Super League proposed.

The road to qualification would resemble the pathways to participate in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.

Unify League Format

The Unify League would feature the following four leagues:

Star and Gold would feature 16 teams each split into two groups of eight. Blue and Union would feature 32 teams each split into four groups of eight. Each team would play every other team both home and away.

The top four clubs in both groups in Star and Gold would advance to the knockout rounds. The top two clubs in each group in Blue and Union would also punch their tickets to the knockout stage.

Unify League Teams

The teams set to feature in the Unify League have not been revealed just yet, but fans can expect Real Madrid and Barcelona to back the new competition. The two clubs were instrumental in challenging UEFA and FIFA's original response to the European Super League and took the matter to the European Court of Justice. The court ruled that UEFA and FIFA violated European Union law, giving A22 the greenlight to once again push forward with the creation of a new league.

It might be quite some time before other clubs come forward in support of the Unify League, especially after the loud response to the European Super League. One thing is for certain, though—the new format offers more opportunities to clubs throughout Europe that were not available in the original European Super League proposal.