ESL organisers announce proposals for new competitions

Sports development company A22, which was formed to assist with creating the soccer European Super League, proposed a new competition with 64 men's and 32 women's teams playing midweek in a league system across Europe.

The proposal was announced soon after the European Court of Justice said soccer bodies UEFA and FIFA contravened EU law by preventing the formation of a Super League.

In what appeared to be a hastily put-together website, A22 outlined their new proposals for a European Super League, which they claim will offer places based on merit and that all games will be broadcast free to fans.

One of the biggest criticisms of the original ESL proposal was that it was, for the most part, a closed competition with the founding members all guaranteed a place each season.

A22 claim that their new format will contain no permanent members, see teams included on sporting merit and that participating clubs will continue to compete in their domestic leagues.

Under their new plans, there will be three divisions, comprising of 64 teams in total.

In outlining their places for the new Leagues, A22 said: "The men's proposal includes 64 clubs across three leagues: Star, Gold and Blue. The Star and Gold Leagues have 16 clubs each, while the Blue League has 32 clubs.

"All clubs will play in groups of 8 - home and away - resulting in a guaranteed minimum of 14 matches per year.

"At the end of the season, a knockout stage of eight clubs will be played in each league to determine the league champions.

"There will be annual promotion and relegation between the three leagues, with promotion into the Blue League based upon domestic league performance.

"There will be no increase in match calendar days beyond those contemplated by existing cross-border