Topics: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, European Super League, UEFA Champions League
A22, the company promoting the breakaway league, promises to deliver a multi-division competition with no permanent members following the original outcry.

The European Super League has made a return. A22, the Madrid-based sister company promoting the highly-controversial breakaway competition, has announced a relaunch of the ESL with a new format, sparking further debate.

This comes two years after the project infamously collapsed within days following its abrupt unveiling. One of the key issues that plagued the initial format was the fact that it was a closed shop, with the 12 founding members never being subject to relegation.

However, the ESL claim to have tackled this issue with their new format, announcing a multi-division league consisting of 60 to 80 teams with no permanent members and with each club playing a minimum of 14 games.

According to A22, this shake-up was born out of conversations with clubs all across the continent regarding the financial issues facing modern football. Additionally, Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, one of only three teams yet to abandon this project, argued that the ESL will give rise to larger solidarity payments to teams that aren't competing in Europe.

A22 Sports Management also released a ten-point manifesto outlining some of their core principles, which include player health, well-enforced financial stability, and the development and financing of women's football.

However, a number of obstacles still remain. While nine of the 12 founding members have abandoned ship, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus continue a legal battle with UEFA over the right to stage a breakaway competition. However, the recent verdict from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg was heavily in favor of European football's governing body and its current monopoly.

Furthermore, there were six Premier League clubs originally involved — Man City, Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham — but the current English top-flight regulations could prevent them from joining this breakaway league.

A22 promises to set up three leagues akin to the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League. However, as explained by Sky Sports, while there will be promotion and relegation, this would only take place at the bottom of those three leagues.

This means that while any club in the Premier League, for example, can qualify for the UEFA Champions League by finishing in the top four, that same achievement would only secure entry into Europe under the new Super League, not a ticket to the top-tier competition. As a result, the continent's elite teams could still remain unchallenged.