European Super League: Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy voted onto the European Club Association board

Tottenham chief Daniel Levy has been appointed to the European Club Association’s executive board, just months after his side withdrew from the controversial European Super League project. 

Spurs were among 12 clubs to sign on to the newly-formed competition in April, with fans, pundits and rival clubs roundly condemning all involved, before Tottenham joined nine teams in withdrawing.

Those nine sides, including the Premier League‘s Big Six, all rejoined the ECA – which is the sole independent body directly representing clubs at European level – having initially pulled out to sign with the Super League. 

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has been appointed to the European Club Association board despite only months ago withdrawing the club from the breakaway European Super League

The ECA board already had a number of top executives from some of the biggest clubs in world football – including PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Bayern Munich supremo Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Borussia Dortmund’s Hans-Joachim Watzke and Lyon’s Jean-Michel Aulas.

Now Levy will join the group on the board after Tottenham pledged their future to core European competitions, with the ECA posting a brief statement on Twitter reading: ‘Congratulations to Daniel Levy, Chairman @SpursOfficial who has been elected to the ECA Executive Board.’

On the same day, the ECA also announced two other executives would be joining their board – Miguel Angel Gil, CEO of Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan chief Alessandro Antonello. Both clubs had also been part of the Super League before quitting to rejoin the ECA. 

He has been joined by Inter Milan chief Alessandro Antonello (left) and Atletico’s Migel Angel Gil (right). Both clubs also signed up to the Super League before pulling out

Levy has been chairman of Tottenham since 2001 after his company ENIC purchased the club from former owner Alan Sugar, and he has transformed the north London side from a struggling mid-table outfit to the Champions League.

He has also overseen the construction of a state-of-the-art training facility and £1billion new stadium seating 62,000, but has incurred the wrath of fans over his running of the club and transfer policy. 

His decision to join the Super League initially caused huge protests by Spurs fans outside the club’s stadium, with many calling for himself and the ENIC board to quit and sell to another party.

Levy and Tottenham were roundly condemned for joining the Super League along with the ‘Big Six’ Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and owner John Henry (right)

Spurs fans came out in their droves to protest the club’s involvement before they pulled out

Spurs issued an apology for their involvement in the project, saying they should have informed fans beforehand and stressed it entered on the pretense that the format would evolve through dialogue with key bodies in football.

‘We have seen football fans around the world come together to show their strength of feeling regarding the future of the game we all feel so passionately about, with strong views expressed on the proposed establishment of a new European Super League,’ Spurs said in a statement.

‘It’s important to underline that we entered the ESL with the expectation that the format, rules and structures would evolve through dialogue with key parties, namely the Premier League, FA, Uefa, Fifa and, crucially, fans. It should never have been conveyed with certainty when it was in fact a framework agreement for consultation going forward.

‘We should have challenged and reconsidered the annual access system. We wholeheartedly regret that we involved the club and that the legal process itself meant we were unable to consult our fans early on – we apologise unreservedly.’

Meanwhile, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has refused to give up hope for a European Super League and claimed the project for a breakaway competition is very much ‘alive’. 

Back in April a proposal for a 12-team league – which included Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham – was abandoned after 48 hours when fan pressure led to nine sides pulling out.

Along with the six Premier League sides, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid also withdrew and all nine have since rejoined the European Clubs’ Association.

But Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have not returned to the ECA and still hold hope of delivering the ‘most attractive competition in the world’. 

‘The Super League? The project is alive,’ Laporta told Onze TV. 

‘UEFA cannot act against us. We will see what the courts say. 

‘All the pressure put on the English clubs is useless if the courts accept the project.

‘If the Super League goes ahead, it will be the most attractive competition in the world and it will help a lot financially.’