When news broke last week of plans to establish a European Super League of football clubs, as twelve of Europe's top football clubs announced they were launching a breakaway Super League, Reuters delivered fast and exclusive coverage to clients around the world across text, video and pictures, with more than 270 broadcasters outside the United States using Reuters reporting.
The story broke with Reuters Milan Correspondent Elvira Pollina noticed a local report and got confirmation about an emergency meeting of Italian clubs, linked to the breakaway. As it emerged that English teams were involved, Reuters Sports News Correspondent Simon Evans received a rare comment from former Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson, criticising the club's involvement.
Following reaction from governing body and Champions League organisers UEFA, Evans interviewed UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, who described the plans as a 'spit in the face'.
Shortly after, Belen Carreno, a Reuters Senior correspondent in Madrid, acquired a court document showing the rebel clubs getting an injunction against UEFA. This exclusive news was of huge appeal to TV news channels.
As clubs began to withdraw from the proposal, news channels broke into their coverage with Reuters exclusive interview with one of the main instigators, Juventus' Andrea Agnelli, admitting the plan was dead. The exclusive was used by over 100 channels worldwide.
As events played out, Reuters photojournalists were on the ground to deliver the first reactions of fans from all the major football grounds in Europe, capturing fans' passion and anger on video and in stills.
Multiple Reuters correspondents also provided video footage shot on smartphones, ensuring every angle of the fast-moving story was covered.
With a robust visuals offering of more than 1,600 images and over 200 video stories delivered each day, Reuters covers the real world in real time.
[Reuters PR Blog Post]
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