Athens Kallithea FC statement on Super League expansion to 16 clubs

In the 2026/27 season, the Super League has a chance to remerge among UEFA’s Top 10 ranked leagues. It represents a moment in which the Super League should take the opportunity to reform in a manner that reflects the standards and best practices in other top European leagues.

At present, among UEFA’s Top 12 ranked leagues, the Super League is the only league with as few as 14 clubs, and one of only two leagues with a relegation play-out league, which exposes 43% of the league to the threat of relegation.

Beyond the 6 play-out clubs, there are still more clubs that must operate with a thought to avoiding relegation — for example, this season, even 6th place OFI was only three points above the relegation zone as late as January. Essentially, more than half of the league is in a relegation battle every year, which is in stark contrast to the other Top 12 leagues.

Why it matters

With so many clubs under such threat, it has become standard to operate out of short-term fear rather than for long-term growth, and there are significant negative competitive and economic effects that reverberate throughout Greek football, including to the bigger clubs and to the national teams (senior team and youth teams).

First, an analysis published by Transfermarkt in February 2026 found that the Super League is last (20th) among UEFA’s Top 20 leagues in percentage of total minutes given to players under the age of 21 this season. These young players were given more than 20% of total minutes in five leagues and more than 15% of total minutes in ten leagues, but less than 5% of total minutes in the Super League. Without question, there is a correlation between having the highest threat of relegation in Europe and the least amount of minutes for young players in Europe.

Second, as a result of the current system that strains the use of young players, mid-tier and lower-tier Super League clubs are missing out on tens of millions of Euros in potential transfer revenues.

Over the last three seasons, Super League clubs excluding the traditional top five clubs have generated a total of €9 million from the sale of 12 Greek players — while corresponding clubs in Belgium (ranked 8th) have generated €130.5 million from the sale of 36 Belgian players, in the Czech Republic (ranked 10th) have generated €30.2 million from the sale of 31 Czech players, and in Poland (ranked 12th) have generated €32.4 million from the sale of 25 Polish players.

Simply put, systemic risk aversion has left big money out of the pockets of clubs and players. Further, increased market activity and profitability is a force that would contribute to raising the standard of play across the league.

Third, the annual extensive relegation battle and associated risk of financial armageddon makes it extraordinarily difficult to prioritize long-term investments in their stadiums, training grounds, youth academies, sport technologies, scouting networks, brand development, and so on, knowing those investments could be wiped out.

A core solution to the problems outlined above is to expand the Super League to 16 clubs and eventually to 18 clubs.

Super League 2 clearly has enough clubs with the ambition and ability to make the step up to the Super League without dragging down the quality of play, and in fact the more likely long-term result is to introduce more talent into the league, create a more robust transfer market, and ultimately raise the quality of play.

More broadly, despite operating in a challenged state that is calling out for reform, Super League 2 nevertheless has been a breeding ground for the Super League. Earlier this season, Andrews Tetteh earned his first national team appearance and Marios Vichos earned his first national team call-up, and both players were developed in Super League 2 — Tetteh over two-and-a-half seasons in the league, Vichos over four seasons in the league. Digging deeper into data, 29 out of the top 200 performers (14.5%) in the Super League this season (using Sofascore ratings as a proxy) have played in Super League 2 within the last three seasons.

If the top Super League 2 clubs ascend to the Super League, it would actually allow for Super League 2 to become even more focused on player development and player sales.

Of all top European leagues, relegation is especially damaging in Greece, where the second division has not been organized in a way as to be reasonably economically viable for clubs, with several historic clubs quickly if not immediately falling from the Super League into the amateur leagues and bankruptcy. An expansion of the Super League (and broader reforms) would ease that tension to some degree.

Rebranding Proposal

It seems that clubs that have taken a stance against an expansion of the Super League have held the short-sighted position that they prefer the revenue pie to be split by 14 rather than 16 or 18. It has already been described above how a league expansion could reduce player spending and increase transfer revenue. But at the same time, there must be a focus to grow the revenue pie, and the foundation for that effort should be an expert rebranding, as the “Super League” has been devoid of brand equity for many years.

Ted Philipakos is widely recognized as one of the most innovative club executives and sought-after brand consultants in the football industry, and has been named one of the 50 most influential figures in global football culture by London-based publication VERSUS. His body of work includes directing several globally acclaimed rebrandings, and he has a plan for an comprehensive rebranding of Super League 1 and Super League 2, which would create a modern, distinctive, attractive Greek football product with an international sensibility, aiming towards brand expansion and new revenue opportunities. Mr. Philipakos' design partners are the renowned Munich-based studio Bureau Borsche, whose clients have included Apple, Balenciaga, Supreme, Nike, Inter Milan, Venezia FC, and Athens Kallithea FC.