The summer break in football is a fine thing. Finally take a deep breath, critically review the old season and make plans for the new one. However, the big associations keep coming up with creative ideas to at least shorten that summer break – especially in years without a (men’s) World Cup or European Championship.
Who doesn’t remember the Taça Independência in the summer of 1972, when Brazil celebrated the 150th anniversary of independence with a not-so-small mini-tournament and emerged victorious from the competition involving 18 national teams.
In 1980/1981, for a change, the winter break in Europe was too long, which is why Fifa organized a showdown in December and January for the six world champions to date in Uruguay to celebrate their own invention of the World Cup 50 years earlier. It will be interesting to see what the world association will come up with for 2030 – a World Cup finals with all teams that have ever qualified would be a charming possibility, for example.
But back to the present, where some particularly windy businessmen are still dreaming of the Super League because there just isn’t enough money to be made in normal European competition anymore. Uefa is now inclined to take countermeasures with a kind of Champions League in mini format before the actual start of the group phase (although it’s supposed to be bigger and better soon anyway).
In the USA, therefore, there is probably already great anticipation when four strong club teams compete for the first time in the summer of 2024 for the title of “insert a sponsor name here” winner. It’s nice that football is constantly evolving and that the public’s desire for more games and tournaments is also taken into account.
And while you’re at it, there would be so much more space for even more football in the summer: the World Cup with 48 teams is coming. And a European Championship with 32 teams? Is checked. In addition, the planning of major tournaments every two years instead of every four years is just as much a thing as the already mentioned Super League of Super Clubs.
And the soccer players want and will get more of the big cake in the future; This summer and next, the European Championships and World Cup are coming up here.
The summer break should soon be like the winter break – it will simply be abolished. And the few days when there really isn’t a ball rolling have long since been discovered by clever clubs. Hertha BSC, for example, will elect a new president on June 26th. Until then, the motto is: Hold on!
