UEFA is looking to ditch controversial plans to award two Champions League places based on historical performance as part of the competition’s overhaul.
The Champions League is set to undergo reforms in 2024 and The European Club Association (ECA) has been pushing for the award of two places based on co-efficient ranking, allocating positions for two teams who miss out on qualification through their domestic league finish.
The two sides who failed to qualify domestically with the highest co-efficient ranking – a figure awarded based on achievements in European football over the past five years – would be allocated a place in the following season’s Champions League under the proposals.
However, the Times are reporting that UEFA are looking to abandon those plans with the governing body having accepted that the proposal ‘shares similarities with the plan for a European Super League’ in safe-guarding Europe’s elite clubs.
Among the other changes include a 10-game group stage, which UEFA are now keen to reduce to eight, two more than the current format. The plans would see a ‘Swiss model’ adopted in which teams compete in one single league, playing matches against opponents of different ranks to decide which teams reach the knockout stages. The competition would also be expanded from 32 to 36 teams as part of the changes.
The Premier League – including the division’s ‘big six’ who each entered into the initial plans for a Super League – is understood to be against the awarding of places based on co-efficient rankings and is also in favour of an eight-game group in order to reduce fixture congestion.
