In a statement released by the European Leagues, the association revealed that while they welcomed a few of UEFA’s plan to expand the Champions League, the rest concerned them. The UEFA unveiled a plan for a new format from 2024 that would feature a 36-team league replacing the current group stage.
With the Champions League, and Europa League’s, current contract expiring in 2024, it has seen reports fly from left, right, and center about the new tournament. That includes a proposal for a European Super League which has been rejected by quite a few clubs, and FIFA, despite support from some of Europe’s biggest sides. However, in light of FIFA’s decision to ban players whose clubs’ participate in the so-called European Super League, UEFA has released their proposal.
It is a 36-team league that will replace the current group stage and will see every team plays 10 matches which will be a challenge for many leagues. That saw the statement from the European Leagues, an association of 37 competitions from 30 different countries, concerned about the length of the competition. The statement further revealed concerns on the financial side and regard “financial redistribution”.
“The European Leagues have raised strong concerns about more matchdays in such a flexible system in an already very congested calendar. (The European Leagues) also questioned the possible impact of access as well as commercial components on the sporting and financial balance of domestic leagues. Finally, they discussed several options regarding financial redistribution,” the group’s statement read.
“The European leagues welcome the consultation process led by UEFA and consider that the vision based on the so-called “Swiss Model” is an improvement compared to the more radical proposals that emerged in 2019,” it added.
