Twelve major European football clubs, six of them from England, on Sunday announced new plans for a European super league (ESL) which will most likely undermine the UEFA Champions League.
Eight more clubs, presumably from Germany and France, are expected to join the breakaway European league before its season commences.
A statement just after 11 pm UK time from the newly formed European Super League confirmed plans to begin the new competition in August.
The ESL said the new format will involve midweek fixtures, with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues. It said:
An August start with clubs participating in two groups of 10, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions.
A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.
As soon as practicable after the start of the men’s competition, a corresponding women’s league will also be launched, helping to advance and develop the women’s game.
AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur are the founding clubs.
Meanwhile, German and French clubs are not part of the ESL, with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich insisting that they have not signed up.
The plans have already been condemned by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
UEFA, in a statement earlier on Sunday, which was also signed by the Premier League, the Football Association and their counterparts in Spain and Italy, reiterated the threat to ban any players involved from “any competition at domestic, European or world level”.