By Lee Clow
“THE men’s game couldn’t have handled it and the women’s game certainly couldn’t.” says Helen Ward on the European Super League.
The proposal of the new league outraged the whole football community, with fans, pundits and even players standing together against the rich superpowers in charge.
On April 20 2021, only three days after the announcement, the six Premier League clubs who agreed to take part in the new league all pulled out following backlash across the world, forcing the proposals to be scrapped.
BREAKING: #LFC, #MUFC, #THFC and #AFC have followed #CFC and #MCFC in withdrawing from the European Super League.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 20, 2021
Despite the welcoming news to all football fans, it was easy to forget about the women’s game and the potential impact the new league could have had.
The top six clubs in the UK, as well as the other six European clubs who are involved, each have their respective women’s teams, however their status and success do not correlate with their parent clubs. The women’s teams have only one Champions League between them, in comparison to the men’s who have a combined 40 Champions League/European Cups.
As well as this, Lyon’s women team have seven Champions League titles, while its men team have none and are not considered as one of Europe’s elite clubs.
Because the proposals focused on the success of the men’s top European clubs, it meant that the most successful women’s team were going to be excluded from the European Super League.
Wales international, Helen Ward, has passionately shared her opinion on the European Super League all over her social media pages.
Next move, the self-proclaimed Big Six should heavily reduce STs / match tickets for their loyal and passionate fans who have, effectively, saved them and saved football That would show that they are sorry and how much their fans actually man #EuropeanSuperLeague #ESL
— Helen Ward (@helenwardie10) April 20, 2021
Ward believes that the European Super League would have had such a bad impact on the women’s game.
“On the assumption that it would look like the men’s version with it featuring the same clubs, it would have been a disaster”
“It would have eliminated some of the biggest and best women’s sides in the game – Lyon, Wolfsburg, PSG, Bayern Munich, Rosengard and so on”
“It would also have included sides who have been existence for a matter of months, or a couple of years such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and a side in Liverpool who have been left to train and play at Tranmere Rovers and who currently sit fourth in the Championship.”
The progress of women’s football has surged in recent years, but Ward believes the new league would have halted this progress, especially as the top players would not be competing at the highest stage.
“It would have halted so much of the progress that has been made and make the gulf between the ‘top’ or biggest sides even more difficult to breach than it already is”
“The men’s game couldn’t have handled it and the women’s game certainly couldn’t.” Ward concluded.
On Twitter, Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg also shared her thoughts on the proposed plans and why it should not happen.
I grew up loving the @ChampionsLeague. Then I got to play in the @UWCL. Then I got to win 5 of them and become the all-time leading goalscorer. It's legacy. It's the past, present, and future, so is meritocracy in sports. Greed is not the future. pic.twitter.com/8cLlCbMnQd
— Ada S Hegerberg (@AdaStolsmo) April 19, 2021
The demise of the European Super League has certainly pleased all football fans. The women’s game can now continue to grow in the way it should, without the introduction of a new league which destroys the entire football structure.