What an improvement would look like in the champions league

Plans for a fundamental reform in the UEFA Champions League are to be confirmed in April, though due to delays by some leading European clubs to say more on commercial rights. An announcement was expected at an executive committee meeting of the governing body of European football on Wednesday, but UEFA said no official decision would be made before April 19.

A statement from the powerful European Club Association (ECA) late Tuesday showed that it was behind the setback.

The ECA, headed by Andrea Agnelli, is also the president of Juventus, said it “unanimously agreed that it was not in a position to formally make significant changes … in isolation to the period after 2024”.

The foundation of the future relationship of ECA and UEFA also needs to be considered at the same time, “if European football is to face the challenges that it currently faces”.

According to sources close to the negotiations, some major clubs want more control of UEFA Club Competitions (UCC), a subsidiary that advises UEFA on commercial matters.

Half of the board members are appointed by UECA by the UCC. The other half are appointed by the ECA.

The current protocol defining the relationship between ECA and UEFA is also scheduled for renewal in 2024, hence the sticking point.

However, the plan for a reformed version of European football’s elite club competition – which is supposed to prevent the threat of a breakaway Super League – would seem to be already an open secret.

This is how things are set to change:

– more information –

The changes are essentially about creating a new format for the group phase, which has been replacing the existing structure since 2003.

At the moment, 32 clubs enter the group stage and are divided into eight groups of four teams, moving away from each other’s home and into the final 16 with the top two in each group.

It is understood that the plans will increase the number of teams to 36 in the group stage, with discussions going on as to who will go the extra berth.

The British newspaper The Times reported that two additional spots will go to clubs with the best coefficients that fail to qualify through domestic competitions, but have qualified for the second-tier Europa League.

However, the European League, a body representing the interests of clubs and leagues in 30 countries, is against venues based on historical merit and insists on “must reflect the current state of domestic competition” of European competitions.

France, which is the fifth place in Europe, but currently has only two guaranteed places in the group stage, should get an additional place.

– ‘Swiss System’ –

The plan will see a complete overhaul of how the group phase works.

The teams will all be placed in a huge pool and each will play 10 games in a so-called ‘Swiss system’ which is usually associated with chess.

The clubs for the draw will be divided into four pots of nine based on the UEFA coefficient.

The teams will play against 10 different sides, with five games at home and five away.

At the end of this phase, the top eight sides will pass through the final 16, with the bottom 12 ending.

Meanwhile, the sides finishing between ninth and 24th will play two-legged play-offs, with the ninth and 16th finishes from 17th to 24th in side finishes.

The winners of those ties will complete the final-16 line-up, in which the losers will participate in the Europa League.

– Importantly, more matches –

There is a desire to play more games at the heart of reforms explicitly stated by Agnay earlier this year.

The ECA and Juventus Supremo insisted, “It is our strong view that more European matches are welcome.”

This system certainly provides.

Each team will play 10 group games instead of six, meaning an overall explosion of the number of matches, with 180 in the group stage instead of the current one.

Promoted

The knockout stage remains untouched, but the total number of matches in the competition will skyrocket from 125 to 225 in addition to the play-off round at the end of the group stage.

The team reaching the final will have to play at least 17 games compared to the current 13.