Champions League plans on hold after major row
hunited and City believed to have demanded more power hconcerns that new format would protect the ‘big clubs’
Plans to force through a controversial new Champions League format today were scrapped at the 11th hour amid a major row over its future.
Uefa had been poised to approve the most radical revamp of its elite club competition for almost 30 years – one that would have enabled the likes of Liverpool to qualify even if they finished outside the Premier League top four – but announced yesterday that an official decision would take place instead on April 19 “in order to finalise ongoing discussions”.
There were conflicting accounts over the nature of the row that forced the delay, with some blaming a dispute over how much say clubs should have over how the Champions League’s broadcast and commercial rights were sold.
It was claimed that Ed Woodward, the Manchester United executive vice-chairman, and Ferran Soriano, the Manchester City chief executive, made it clear at a meeting of Uefa’s club competitions committee that they would not be prepared to endorse the new format without guarantees of more power.
Others cited opposition to who would receive the extra places in what would be an expanded competition. According to the plan, two of the additional four spots in a 36-team Champions League would go to sides based on their historical record in Europe, one to the fifthstrongest league, which is currently France, and one to the champions of the highest-ranked country not to qualify by right.
This was viewed by many as being too heavily weighted in favour of clubs from the big leagues, who would benefit from a major safety net in the event of a bad season, such as the one Premier League champions Liverpool are enduring.
European football’s governing body was already facing fierce opposition from the Premier League and others by expanding the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams and 125 matches to 225 from 2024-25.
That would mean the current group stage being replaced by a “Swiss system” under which all qualified teams would be guaranteed 10 games instead of six, five at home and five away against opponents of different strength.
The extra 100 games would require an additional four match days, placing huge pressure on the English football calendar in particular and threatening the futures of the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
Under the Swiss system, the Champions League group stage would change from eight groups of four teams to one group table in which those finishing in the top eight would qualify automatically for the knockout stage and those finishing between ninth and 24th would enter a play-off for the remaining eight places.
First used in chess, the format has been adopted to spice up what has become increasingly seen as a stale
and predictable group stage of the competition.
The knockout stage would remain unchanged.
Plans for backdoor access for historically successful clubs have helped stave off the threat of a European Super League, although critics argue it would nevertheless widen the chasm between the haves and have-nots.
There are also major fears the expanded competition will cannibalise non-qualified clubs’ domestic revenues.
Christian Purslow, the Aston Villa chief executive, has criticised the coefficient access plan as “grossly unfair”, while Steve Parish, the Crystal Palace chairman, has said Uefa’s plans will “have a quite devastating effect on domestic competition in England”.