The first leg of the expanded Champions League has been approved by UEFA to quell a backlash around Europe
The first leg of the expanded Champions League has been approved by UEFA to quell a backlash around Europe
The first leg of the Champions League extended into 2024 was approved by UEFA on Tuesday to quell a backlash around Europe.
The reformed group stage has been reduced from 10 rounds to eight, and the backup places for teams based on historical performance have been replaced by a qualification method that recently awards the most successful nations in European football.
The stage would still grow from 32 to 36 teams based on single standings instead of in eight groups.
Weeks of talks involving domestic leagues and clubs to produce a revised format went sour on Tuesday, with two additional places in the expanded format given to the two countries with the highest UEFA rankings based on their teams’ results in European competitions. will appear. last season.
If the system was already in place, it would mean that the fifth-placed team in England would qualify for the Champions League with a second automatic spot for the Netherlands. The third-placed team in the Dutch league will get a chance to enter the qualifying round.
The original plan that drew criticism, especially among middle-class clubs and fans, would have awarded two places to teams with the strongest five-season record in Europe who failed to qualify through their home leagues.
An additional team in the distribution of the other two expansion places will qualify from the fifth-placed country in Europe—regular France and fifth-placed home champions who do not qualify automatically.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said the amendments were agreed at an executive committee meeting in Vienna to ensure that qualifying is based on sporting performance.
An initial radical plan presented by UEFA in 2019 saw 24 of the 32 slots in the Champions League be closed without the need to qualify annually – a largely closed competition that Super League rebel clubs had last year after a failed breakaway. Tried to put up with.
The new format, which was changed on Tuesday, was initially ratified by UEFA in the turbulent days surrounding the Super League launch in April 2021.
“We are confident that the format chosen strikes the right balance,” said Ceferin, “and that it will improve the competitive balance and generate solid revenue that will be distributed to clubs, leagues and grassroots football across our continent while increasing the appeal.” The popularity of our club competitions.”
Teams of eight different opponents play in the first main stage of the new form of the Champions League, with the top eight automatically qualifying for the Round of 16. But a 24th-place finish out of 36 teams would secure entry to the 16-team playoff round. ,
The distribution of additional places means, depending on the current situation in England, there could theoretically be seven teams in the Champions League. This would require English teams to win the Champions League and Europa League, while not finishing in the top five in the Premier League.
10 weeks will be set aside for European games in the league stage starting from 2024, but only eight will be used for the three UEFA competitions. They will also receive a week of exclusivity to help push the Europa League and Europa Conference League into more headlines as they also expand to 36 teams based on a single standings.
The current 32-team Champions League makes 96 games in the group stage. Dropping 10 to eight games per team would result in an additional 64 games instead of 100 before the Round of 16. This will have an impact on UEFA’s estimates of revenue which is growing 40% annually from the current 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion). Club Competitions.
The Champions League was created in 1992 from the European Cup, which began in 1955 and was a knockout tournament for most of its existence.