How does the Unify League work?
THREE years after the Super League was canned following a severe fan-led backlash, a rebranded version called the Unify League has been put forward by promoters A22.
Here’s everything you need to know about the newly proposed competition and how it would work.
How does the Unify League work?
The Unify League, a rebranded version of the European Super League, is a proposed football competition aiming to challenge UEFA’s Champions League.
Unlike the widely panned Super League, which would have seen 12 breakaway rebels — including the Premier League’s Big Six — guaranteed entry, all positions will be earned by domestic performances in the previous campaign.
The Unify League would consist of 96 teams from across Europe taking part each year.
Qualification would be similar to the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
How does the Unify League work?
A NEW version of the European Super League has been proposed - now branded as the Unify League. Here's all you need to know about how it works...
Who plays in it?
The proposed competition would see 96 teams from across Europe taking part each year.
All positions will be earned by performances in domestic competitions the previous campaign – just as it currently is with the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
What’s the format?
There would be FOUR leagues: Star League, Gold League, Blue League and Union League.
The top two divisions, Star and Gold, would each have 16 teams in them, split into two groups of eight.
The groups of eight would play each other home and away, a total of 14 matches per club each season.
The bottom two divisions, Blue and Union, would have 32 teams each, split into four groups of eight.
They would also play each other home and away.
In the Star and Gold leagues, the top four of each group would play a two-legged quarter-final.
In the Blue and Union, it would be the top two teams from each group making up the quarter-finals.
The winners of those matches would then progress to a “final four” week of one off matches to provide the champions of the four different leagues. Those games would be played on a neutral ground.
How many English teams will take part?
The Premier League would have three guaranteed entrants in the Star League.
Two English teams would go into the Gold League.
Up to five further slots for Prem teams would be spread across the remaining pair.
Format
The 96 clubs would be divided into four tiers:
- Star League: 16 teams
- Gold League: 16 teams
- Blue League: 32 teams
- Union League: 32 teams
The top two divisions, Star and Gold, would each have 16 teams in them, split into two groups of eight.
The groups of eight would play each other home and away, a total of 14 matches per club each season.
The bottom two divisions, Blue and Union, would have 32 teams each, split into four groups of eight, who would also play each other home and away.
Knockout stages
The top four of each group would play a two-legged quarter-final In the Star and Gold leagues.
In Blue and Union, the top two teams from each group would make up the quarter-finalists.
The winners of those matches would then progress to a “final four” week of one-off matches, played on a neutral ground, providing the champions of the four different leagues.
Throughout the competition, the winning side would play a total of 18 matches.
Promotion & relegation
Annual promotion and relegation would occur between the leagues.
Promotion into the Blue League would be based on domestic league performance.
A22 envisages the 14 league phase games being played between September and April.
How many English teams will take part?
The Premier League would have three guaranteed entrants in the Star League.
Two English teams would go into the Gold League. Up to five further slots for Premier League teams would be spread across the remaining pair.
Women’s competition
A women’s competition would run alongside the men’s.
However it would feature two leagues instead of four — just the Star and Gold Leagues.
Start date & prizes
While no formal start date has been set, SunSport understands that there is a provisional target of competition launch in September 2026.
The prize fund is also yet to be confirmed, but A22 promises £330m in “solidarity” payments to smaller clubs and countries.
The total prize fund is expected to exceed the current £2bn for the Champions League and £700m for the Europa and Conference Leagues combined.
Unify streaming platform
The Unify League would be streamed through a branded Unified platform, accessible via an app, which would feature:
- Live match streaming
- Free-to-watch matches with advertising
- A subscription option to eliminate ads and access premium features
- Highlights, match insights, analysis and club-specific content
- Interactive fan community features
- Streaming for both men’s and women’s matches
Challenges
The December 2023 ruling from the European Courts stated that Uefa‘s attempts to stop a breakaway tournament went against EU law, potentially paving the way for the Unify League.
Despite this ruling, the Unify League faces significant hurdles:
- Premier League clubs are currently unable to join due to UK government legislation.
- The proposal still needs official recognition and approval from various football governing bodies.
- There is likely to be continued resistance from fans and traditional football institutions.
The Unify League represents a bold attempt to reshape European football, offering a new competition structure and innovative streaming model.
However, its success will depend on overcoming substantial regulatory, legal and cultural obstacles in the football world.
Will the Unify League get off the ground?
By Martin Lipton
The biggest complaint about the original European Super League was it was a closed shop.
But the Unify League proposal would see teams qualify on merit, just as they do for the current Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
But whether people accept it is another matter.
Many people will still think this is just another version of the same old thing, the rich wanting to get richer.
Maybe that’s right, but I can see the appeal for the clubs here – one of which will be a prize fund much bigger than what is currently offered for competing in Europe.
I think there’s a genuine chance that this could be the first thing that brings down the UEFA dominance of club competitions.
But there are a lot of obstacles in the way.
It’s proposed that it could start in September 2026.
I don’t believe it can be as quick as 18 months, but money talks.
We are into uncharted territory.
This is very different from April 2021 when the whole thing crashed and burned so quickly.
This could be real.
This could happen and if it did, would change the face of football.