Season 1 |
Episode Guide
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day fOUR
Back in April 2021, the announcement of a European Super League sent shockwaves through the sporting world. The proposal was simple – gather together the best teams in the world (and Tottenham Hotspur for some reason) and create a new hierarchy for world football.
In its simplest form, it’s the age old adage of the “rich get richer, poor get poorer”, with the proposals inevitably meaning those at the bottom of the ladder get a lot less while the funds for European elites are all but guaranteed, regardless of merit, and increasing exponentially over time.
While some fans embraced this model, a much larger group vehemently rejected the proposals, having already been pushed to breaking point after American sport owners, Oligarchs and Middle Eastern billionaires have bought out their clubs. After much rioting, push-back and protests, most of the teams swiftly backpedaled… except for three.
This four part documentary highlights those extraordinary four days, as well as the complicated and crazy timeline leading up to the public announcement. With plenty of voices on both sides of the argument, Apple’s latest docu-series is surprisingly balanced. We hear from Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich’s owners to name a few, along with spokespeople from fan figureheads and pundits alike.
Each episode clocks in at around an hour or so, although the timeline is quite haphazard most of the way through. There ‘s a lot of jumping backwards and forwards, with one episode honing in on Florentino Pérez’s desire to change Real Madrid, showing the meteoric rise of the “Galacticos” era with Madrid.
All of this feeds into the larger picture of the Super League itself, including both its benefits and pitfalls. The graphics used are actually pretty good, with a consistent use of pyramids to symbolize the currently structure of league football, with teams relegated and promoted. This is, of course, a stark contrast to some American sports like the NFL where there is no relegation and only the chance to get into the play-offs to win the Super Bowl.
One element that’s surprisingly lacking here is that of the fan opinion on everything. While that sounds like an oxymoron, given the documentary is designed for fans to understand the inner-workings of how this Super League came to fruition. There’s a lot of chatter about the global impact of these top teams, but not a single mention of the financial implications for said fans.
Sure the revenue would go up for showing Man United VS Real Madrid for the 100th time in a year but what of the fans? How many fans would be willing to travel every single mid-week to Spain, France, Italy or beyond? How would sponsors feel with half-full stadiums? And how on earth did Tottenham get lumped in with the big clubs?
Beyond this omission, the documentary is incredibly insightful and the balanced argument on both sides of the fence is equal parts frustrating and eye-opening.
Although the Super League plans have fallen by the wayside, it’s already clear that more rumblings will come in the future. With both the World Cup and Champions League facing upheavals and changed formats in the coming years, with a more preferable structure for the “big clubs”, this Super League situation looks far from over. In the meantime though, this four-part docu-series makes for compelling TV and is an absolute must-watch for sport fans.
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Verdict - 8.5/10
8.5/10