The UEFA Champions League could adopt the format of a four-team tournament. What changes are still in play?

European football’s governing body, UEFA, is responding to attacks from Super League participants about the lack of attractiveness of international European competitions by planning major changes.

UEFA responds to declining interest in European cups

On 11 May, UEFA will hold its annual congress in Vienna and one of the topics to be discussed is a potential new competition format for the Champions League. This will come into force from 2024.

In recent years, the idea has emerged in the football community that Europe’s international competitions are losing their appeal and UEFA is trying to find a new formula to give its main competition a boost. This is to attract more attention from fans and potential sponsors.

Weeks ago, Paris Saint-Germain representative and European Club Association (ECA) president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, along with UEFA president Alexandre Čeferin, discussed the idea of a Final Four-style Champions League. The final battles would be played in a city chosen as the venue for what has so far been the final of the competition.

According to Čeferin, the idea is already taking shape and could be one of the first changes to be unveiled in the near future. The president also revealed that the said changes could be announced in May. UEFA is also considering the idea of giving two places to teams based on their performances in European Cups over the last five years if they fail to qualify with their domestic performances.

Greater commercial appeal

UEFA believes that holding the ‘final four’ on neutral ground will mean more television revenue and also greater commercial appeal. They are also studying the possibility of the fifth most powerful league after England, Spain, Italy and Germany gaining an extra place.

Under the format approved in the past, there would be 10 matches in the group stage, with teams playing the same number of home and away games. The final standings would not be divided into groups, with the top eight of the 36 participating teams advancing directly to the eighth-finals. We will certainly see announcements and the nature of the new changes to the Millionaire competition soon.

Source: Marca