The new plan for the European Super League has been unveiled after the leading group received a boost from a court ruling on Thursday.
The European Court of Justice ruled that UEFA and FIFA acted in breach of competition law by blocking the creation of a European Super League in 2021.
The binding ruling marked the final stage in a legal process initiated by the European Super League Company after clubs taking part in the breakaway plans were threatened with sanctions by the governing bodies, while facing a barrage of overwhelming criticism.
The new format – which was unveiled by A22 CEO Bernd Reichart – will feature both a men's and a women's competition, with 64 teams competing in the men's and 32 women's competitions.
In terms of the men's competition, the 64 clubs will be split into three separate competitions – Star, Gold and Blue – with the Star competition being the strongest and Blue the weakest.
The new plan for the European Super League has been unveiled (photo CEO Bernd Reichart)
It comes after a court ruled that UEFA and FIFA acted unlawfully by blocking their creation in 2021
Barcelona and Real Madrid were two of the biggest supporters of the European Super League
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The star and gold leagues will have 16 teams divided into two groups of eight, but the blue league will have 32 clubs divided into four groups of eight.
Each team is guaranteed 14 matches, with everyone playing their group stage opponents on weekday dates between September and April.
The top four clubs from both groups in the gold and star competitions and the top two teams in the four blue groups will then take part in the knockout stages of their competition in the spring.
There will be two-legged quarter-finals and semi-finals before the winners of each competition are crowned after the finals on neutral grounds.
The plan – which is led by sports consultancy A22 – emphasized that it was 'based on sporting merit without permanent members'.
As a result, there is promotion and relegation, with the bottom team in both groups of the Star League being relegated and replaced by the two finalists in the Gold League.
This includes the blue league finalists, who will replace the teams that finish at the bottom of each gold group.
There is an even greater turnover from the blue league, with twenty clubs leaving the league each season and being replaced by twenty others based on their domestic performance.
In the first year of the competition, clubs across all competitions will be selected based on 'an index of transparent, performance-based criteria'.
All games are broadcast for free, with the aim of generating more revenue through advertising.
The Women's Super League will take place simultaneously, although only 32 clubs will be part of the competition.
They will be divided between sixteen players in each of the Star and Gold competitions, with two groups of eight in both divisions.
This will follow a similar pattern with 14 group matches, before two-legged knockout stages until champions from both the Star and Gold divisions are confirmed.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez (left) and Barcelona president Joan Laporta (right) have continued to push for its creation despite the various legal challenges they faced
Fans came out in full force to protest the announcement of the 'closed' league in April 2021
Teams are guaranteed 14 group matches, before the knockout stages determine the winners of each competition
During a presentation unveiling the new plans, Reichart – who is also CEO of the Super League – said: 'There's big news today: football is free. Free from the monopoly of UEFA, free to pursue the best ideas without fear of sanctions and under our proposal, watch all live matches for free.
'This morning the CJEU (European Court of Justice) ended UEFA's almost 70-year monopoly and opened the door for innovation in football: clubs can now openly discuss and consider proposals to tackle the most pressing problems facing the world. tackle sports.
'The cornerstone of our proposal remains the ten principles that we published in February. A number of principles are worth repeating: participation will be based on sporting merit. There will be no permanent members and clubs will remain committed to their national competitions.
“The new SuperLeague format would provide exciting matches all year round, not just part of the year. A league system with only 14 matches means that absolutely every match counts. Clubs that almost never play against each other will now compete regularly on the European stage, creating even more rivalry.
'At the same time there is mobility between the leagues, with promotion and relegation, and with an ongoing strong connection with domestic competitions, and ultimately there would be an incredible knockout stage at the end of the season.'