SUPER League chiefs are ready to push ahead with a breakaway competition - after a major court victory.
And it could see plans for an attempt to replace the Champions League with a new tournament as soon as the 2025-26 season.
Madrid’s Commercial Court found Uefa and Fifa were guilty of “abusing their dominant position” in their attempts to strangle the rebel competition at birth in 2021.
Judge Sofia Gil Garcia was asked to make a final ruling following the verdict of the European Court of Justice in December.
The ECJ found that Uefa and Fifa had acted “unlawfully” when it threatened to punish the breakaway rebels and sanction any players who took part in the competition.
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That decision was confirmed by the Spanish court, preventing the European and world governing bodies from taking steps to prevent the establishment of a new competition.
It will embolden Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are banking on Super League as the way to generate hugely greater revenues than offered by the Champions League.
But Prem clubs and their German counterparts have already given public declarations that they will not be part of any such plot, with similar regulations now being discussed by Italy’s Serie A.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, City, United and Spurs were badly bruised by the massive fan backlash at their initial decision to jump aboard the Super League train in 2021.
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Prem clubs agreed unanimously to new rules meaning they must give three years’ notice before joining any breakaway competition, or be deducted 30 points and hit be swingeing financial penalties.
And the planned Football Regulator - placed on hold because of the General Election but almost certain to come back into Parliament irrespective of the outcome of the July 4 poll - will also be given the power to block clubs from taking part in a competition without the consent of the FA.
Super League and their PR arm, Madrid-based A22, were delighted with the verdict, with one senior figure claiming the ruling had detonated a “bomb” under Uefa.
While a launch in just 15 months may not be possible, Super League chiefs are not dismissing that they could be able to aim for that start date, after unveiling a revised version of the plans in December.
Under the latest plans, 64 clubs will be split into three divisions, with the top tier “Star” league having 16 clubs in two groups of eight, playing 14 games in the initial phase before the top four in each of them going to a quarter-final stage.
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Super League insists its scheme will allow for some promotion and relegation but admit that “historical” criteria would apply to the initial entry list and that domestic performances in the previous season would not directly determine access.
That would probably mean, were the competition starting in September, that Chelsea and United would be in a higher tier next season than either Aston Villa or Tottenham, despite finishing below them in the Prem.