European revamp talks

THE potential impact of a radical proposal for the Champions League, that includes expanding the competition to 14 group matches for each club, will be on the agenda at today’s Premier League shareholders meeting. Juventus are among the key players in a joint initiative being discussed by the European Club Association and UEFA that is looking to switch eight groups of four to four groups of eight, while also abandoning the topfour qualification process. Instead, they want to base qualification on the more complicated process of historical coefficients, potentially making the Champions League more of a closed shop. Germany’s Bundesliga are understood to be considering legal action because there would be a crossover between the proposed start date of 2024-25 for the expanded competition and their current commercial deals. The Premier League question how the extra matches can be accommodated without a significant impact on the domestic football calendar. Champions League football at the weekend is not being discussed, but if that is not where dates are made available, then one of England’s two domestic cup competitions could be under threat. The idea is for the top four teams from each group to progress to a last-16 knockout stage, which means there would be eight more games compared to the current format. A document has been sent to the Premier League chairs and chief executives, who will attend today’s meeting detailing a plan the Premier League are taking seriously.