European Super League: Why Johnson and Starmer dived into the row



Boris Johnson did not waste slotxo โบนัส a moment wading into the row over the European Super League - vowing to do everything in his power to stop it.

Within hours of the announcement from the clubs involved, he had tweeted his condemnation.

And all this from a prime minister who isn't even a football fan himself.

So why did he want to get stuck in?

He was still at it during Prime Minister's Questions, even dipping into the book of football cliches to declare the decision to ditch the ESL the "right result".

As the mayor of London during the 2012 London Olympics, Mr Johnson discovered first hand the power of sport to unite people and lift the national mood, as well as boosting his own popularity.

But there are other, deeper factors at play.

Firstly, let's think about some of the big concepts that have driven British politics in recent years: Belonging, identity and pride.

And yes, that famous slogan of five years ago from the Vote Leave campaign - a desire to "take back control."

The European Super League felt like a laser guided strike on these amorphous but powerful feelings.