March 11 – Despite an apparent agreement between UEFA and Europe’s leading clubs over plans to reform the Champions League post-2024 in order to stave off the threat of a breakaway super league, opposition to the plan continues to be voiced by some key stakeholders.
Earlier this week European Clubs Association chief Andrea Agnelli said the new format could be rubber stamped within weeks but the European Leagues umbrella group is not comfortable with 100 extra matches or four extra matchdays.
UEFA want to introduce a ‘Swiss Model’ which would scrap the existing group phase of eight groups of four. Teams would instead play 10 fixtures based on seedings before the knockout rounds. UEFA also favours granting two of the extra four places in the new-look tournament to clubs based on historical co-efficient, effectively providing a safety net to big clubs in the event of a poor domestic season.
But the European Leagues, which comprises 37 leagues, insists the proposed extra places should go to domestic champions who do not currently qualify for the group stage automatically.
Speaking at a European Leagues’ Club Advisory Platform meeting, English Football League boss Rick Parry warned that expansion of the Champions League could be detrimental and “pose a real threat to the existence” of lower league clubs.
Parry cautioned that increasing the number of European games would endanger England’s League Cup, which provides around a third of the EFL’s broadcast revenue.
“EFL revenues crucially depend on the participation of the big clubs in the League Cup,” he said. “We estimate that we could lose up to a third of the revenues that we distribute. That would pose a very real threat to the existence of some of our clubs.”
Parry also said UEFA’s request for exclusive match days is an “abuse of a dominant position” because of the UEFA rule that domestic leagues are not meant to schedule games against UEFA club games.
The chairman of English top-flight club Crystal Palace Steve Parish echoed those sentiments, calling the reforms an “assault” on the fixture schedule.
“In the middle of a pandemic these decisions are made that may fundamentally change the view of football in domestic leagues forever. From the point of view where we sit this will have quite a devastating effect on domestic competition in England,” said Parish. “With the assault on the calendar, we are talking about a transfer of value from domestic leagues to European competition. I think it’s very concerning.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1713961427labto1713961427ofdlr1713961427owedi1713961427sni@w1713961427ahsra1713961427w.wer1713961427dna1713961427