James Corden rails against Super League in passionate monologue

The biggest story in international sports right now is the proposed Super League featuring 12 of Europe’s biggest soccer clubs. Fan backlash has been intense and perhaps no better explanation for why has been offered than the one from James Corden.

Teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, and Real Madrid announced they plan to play in an annual competition that would rival the UEFA Champions League. Speculation that such a league would be created has existed for years but now it looks like it will become a reality.

Supporters from around Europe and the world were quick to criticize the Super League. The competition further isolates the sport’s already wealthy teams even more and could have long-lasting effects on the game and the viability of smaller clubs throughout Europe.

And while soccer’s popularity in America trails behind sports such as football and basketball, there are still millions of supporters in the U.S. who care about the sport’s future in Europe. The Late Late Show‘s James Corden acknowledged that he was speaking to a niche audience on Monday night when he railed against the Super League and called out the unprecedented greed coming from the 12 team owners.

Even non-soccer fans can agree with James Corden

James Corden couldn’t find too many soccer (or football) fans in the Late Late Show studio on Monday night. Without a studio audience, it was just Corden, the band, and his staff. But that didn’t stop the late night host from speaking about a topic he cares about when it comes to soccer and what the sport means to so many people.

Corden did his best to find a way to compare the Super League to something American or non-sports fans could understand. The Oscars analogy came close but maybe it would work better if he referenced studios instead of actresses. Imagine if independent films or streaming services were cut out of theatrical releases in major cities or excluded from the Academy Awards so that the biggest, richest studios in the world could become even bigger and richer.

So even if you don’t follow soccer or care what millionaires and billionaires are doing with their teams in Europe, you should appreciate Corden’s sincerity and passion. And everyone can agree with Corden when he condemns greed at the expense of working-class people. He does an excellent job of explaining why soccer is so important to towns throughout England and Europe before warning that the Super League will undo a foundation built over more than a century.

Other late night hosts such as Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers have called out greed from corporations and politicians and have been applauded by their audiences. Here, Corden is doing the same thing as he sees it happen to European soccer. Good for Corden for speaking up and using his unique platform to combat greed and try to preserve whatever purity is left in soccer.

What did you think of James Corden’s take on the Super League? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.