UEFA HAS DRAFTED a controversial plan to introduce promotion and relegation to the Champions League at a meeting at its Swiss headquarters in Nyon, sources told AFP today.
There would be four groups of eight teams from 2024 if the proposal is put into action, meaning it would significantly increase the number of European matches and favour bigger clubs.
But Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has played down the plan, saying: “What is important to remember, is that, despite a lot of talk in the media, no decisions have been made. At the moment we have only ideas and opinions.”
The revamped tournament would not see games played at weekends, which would have sparked uproar among the domestic leagues.
The top five teams in each group would be automatically qualified for the next edition, effectively making the Champions League far harder for clubs from smaller countries to play in.
Change to European club tournaments has become a controversial issue after Andrea Agnelli, the president of the European Club Association (ECA), outlined proposals for a “pan-European league system” that would greatly reduce the number of teams qualifying from domestic competitions.
The Uefa drafts suggest a move in that direction, although the number of clubs in the Champions League would remain at 32.
In recent seasons, the group stage has featured eight pools of four teams.
The ECA demanded on Tuesday that Uefa “properly include” it in any plans to change Europe’s elite competition.
“When the Champions League was last changed in 2016, Uefa was criticised for not holding discussions with its stakeholders,” added Ceferin.
When I became president shortly afterwards, I insisted that any future changes should be subject to consultation and today’s meeting is further evidence of that.”
European football’s governing body has already been criticised for changing the qualifying criteria for the Champions League, with the top four sides from each of the continent’s big four leagues — England, Spain, Italy and Germany — automatically qualifying for this season’s group stage.
Ajax play Tottenham tonight for a place in the Champions League final against Liverpool on June 1 in Madrid, after Jurgen Klopp’s side’s remarkable comeback against Barcelona.
Ajax were one of the teams hit hardest by the most recent Champions League changes. They had to come through three qualifying rounds just to make the group stage earlier this campaign.
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It’s not a bad tournament as it is. Yes some of the early group games can be dead rubbers but that always happens in a seaded tournament. It allows for smaller teams to have big days out against top teams in top stadia so not much wrong with it in my eyes.
@Declan Snow: that’s the thing. Money, money, miney. They want to get rid of the small teams as they don’t bring in enough money. Football is sickeningly money orientated. This year’s edition has some romance about it with ajax doing so well but I lost an awful lot of interest the last couple of years.
4 groups of 8 teams = how many dead rubber games?
@Dara Hensey: Teams would be trying to qualify for knock out stages or fighting relegation I presume.
Only way I could see an improvement in the Champions League is if they just changed to to a straight knockout tournament, maybe including 64 teams after qualifiers. There’s too many boring group stage games, let’s be honest it only really gets interesting when it gets to the knockouts
@COYBIG: that’s true. I’d love this scenario but it makes it too likely that the big guns get knocked out and then the number of games would be reduced meaning less revenue for the powers that be so they’ll never do it.
At this stage I just wish the money clubs with feck off to their superleague before they ruin everything. Potential finalists Ajax probably wouldn’t even be in the competition if these lads had their way.
@Seán Ó Murchú: ah now, if ajax beg hard enough, I’m sure the big lads would allow them the privilege of playing in a meaningless b league with virtually non-existent promotion, along with all the other non-money league teams who dare to challenge the big boys dominance the odd time
Well the first thing they would want to change is the name of the competition, calling it the Champions league is a bit of a joke. Take this season for example, the final could be between Liverpool and Spurs, the last title won by any of the clubs was in the early 90′s