☕️🌦️⚽️ Good morning everyone! Ever gotten a new job and felt “imposter syndrome” immediately? How about coaching one team in the Premier League on your first coaching job, getting them relegated to the second division, and then getting hired to coach one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world? Enter Vincent Kompany. In a shocking move to everyone, Kompany is proof that if you have a connection to Pep Guardiola and at least attempt a similar style of soccer, teams are willing to take a gamble on you.

Giveaway: Wake up and smell the coffee. Our giveaway will be a $30 gift card for our favorite coffee brand- Kickoff Coffee. As always, each friend that you refer to subscribe to the newsletter is an entry to our raffle. Best of luck!

UEFA Conference League
Olympiakos vs Fiorentina

🏆️ 1️⃣ Athens is all set for the European final. If you're new to it, the UEFA Conference League is like the third tier of European international tournaments. At the top, there's the Champions League, with the final coming up this weekend featuring Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. Next, there's the Europa League, which was just won by the Italian team Atalanta. And then, there's the Conference League, with today's match between the Greek team Olympiakos and the Italian team Fiorentina. You don't have to know the players' favorite pizza toppings to enjoy the nail-biting excitement of a high-stakes showdown.

Legal
Rises From the Ashes

🔋🪦⚡️ Queue in Massive Boost, the European Super League (ESL) may be back on? A Spanish court ordered football ruling bodies FIFA and UEFA to halt their opposition to the parallel European competition, further ruling the football governing bodies were practicing anticompetitive behavior and abusing their dominant position. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and 9 other top European clubs announced the plan in April 2021. The ESL proposed in 2021, a breakaway league by Europe’s 12 leading clubs sparked widespread protest among fans and threats of sanctions by UEFA, leading 9 teams to pull out. The move collapsed within 48 hours, after the public outcry forced Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid to withdraw. After the withdrawal, ESL came up with a new format which would involve 64 teams

• Judge Sofia Gil Garcia ruled that the governing bodies violated European Union law by banning clubs from participating in a proposed new professional soccer championship

• The Spanish court ruled that FIFA and UEFA abused their dominant position and prevented free competition by opposing the creation of the European Super League through imposing unjustified and disproportionate restrictions on free competition within the markey

• The Judge also ordered FIFA and UEFA to immediately reverse any anticompetitive actions committed in the past

🧑‍🍳🧑‍⚖️💼 End of the Monopoly? The case was brought by A22 Sports Management, the sports development company behind the plan to create the ESL ,against the Spanish Soccer Federation, Spain’s LaLiga, UEFA and FIFA who had blocked the ESL. Judge Gil Garcia’s ruling followed a similar decision by the European Court of Justice in December. A22 has said UEFA and FIFA held a monopolistic position that breached EU’s Competition and Free Movement Law.

• A22, the management company formed to sponsor and assist in the formation of the ESL. welcomed the ruling

• “The era of the monopoly is now definitely over,” A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said, calling it “an important step towards a truly competitive and sustainable club football landscape in Europe”.

• Reichart added that UEFA had stifled innovation for decades and clubs "should not have to fear threats of sanctions simply for having ideas and conversations."

Both La Liga and UEFA insisted the ruling did not explicitly support the creation of the Super League. The ECJ ruled against UEFA and FIFA, though it did not comment specifically on whether the ESL could go ahead. UEFA were quick to clarify that the ruling does not equate to an endorsement of the ESL or any similar proposals and emphasised that the judgement has not approved or given the green light to projects like the Super League - a sentiment echoed by La Liga.

• The judgment does not give third parties the right to develop competitions without authorization and does not concern any future project or indeed any modified version of an existing, UEFA provided in a statement.

• It will take time to study the judgment before deciding whether any further action is necessary

• “The judgment is not final, nor does it bring anything new of significance” said La Liga chief Javier Tebas

What’s next? The European Court of Justice's decision last year effectively allowed for the possibility of competing tournaments to UEFA's established competitions. A22 has been proactive in seeking to attract clubs to join a potential 'rebel' tournament, although no concrete announcements have been made. The Spanish court’s ruling comes just days before UEFA’s showpiece Champions League final between 14-time winner Real and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Wednesday ICYMI

Saudi Pro League

La Liga

Serie A

Quick Bites 🍕

Xavi out, Flick in

Klopp not holding anything back

Spain has a new MVP

Matches to Catch

US MLS

Copa Libertadores

Banter of the day

Football, by the fans for the fans

In search of a pub? Ever find yourself in a new city and are desperately searching for a local soccer pub? Who would have thought that the premier league took time out of their day to create a bar finder. There really is nothing better than catching an early premier league game on the weekends with fellow fans of the game, and finding that bar that will actually have the game sound on just got that much easier.

USA Bar Finder. Bar finder, aka Intern Jose’s nickname in college. Easy to use search platform on the premier leagues website. It has most major cities included, and they’re even accepting updates to their list if you email them at [email protected]

Find your local soccer pub he