The Duke of Cambridge has spoken of the ”united voice of football fans” after English teams withdrew from the proposed European Super League.
After days-long controversy, the six Premier League teams from England pulled out en masse. William’s tweet on Wednesday evening reads:
“I’m glad the united voice of football fans has been heard and listened to. It is now really important that we use this moment to secure the future health of the game at all levels. As President of the FA, I’m committed to playing my part in that work. W.”
The six English football clubs who had agreed to the ESL before pulling out were Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Of the twelve teams who initially backed the contest across Europe, one Spanish team and two Italian teams also pulled out—Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan—which leaves only three teams from the original planned founders.
On April 21, Andrea Agnelli, the Super League’s vice-chairman, and chairman of Juventus, an Italian team still in the league, said in an interview that with the withdrawal of so many teams, it was not a viable organisation any longer.
William first waded into the controversial Super League debate with another personal tweet on the Kensington Royal Twitter account that read: “Now, more than ever, we must protect the entire football community – from the top level to the grassroots – and the values of competition and fairness at its core. I share the concerns of fans about the proposed Super League and the damage it risks causing to the game we love.”
The Duke of Cambridge held an emergency meeting with the chairman of the Football Association on April 20 to discuss the controversial league. Elsewhere, protests and demonstrations were held at the clubs’ headquarters, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatened sanctions if any team joined the Super League.
William has been very vocally involved in the football community since his appointment as President of the Football Association in 2006.
