New European competition format

[CliffyG]

So was listening to TalkSport on the way in and it appears in the 24/25 season they are going to change the format for Champions League and Europa. There has already been a proposed format which was widely rejected by the European clubs but it has been amended and now the big clubs in Spain, Italy and France have agreed to it while all the Premier League clubs have not changed their stance.

The main change is that instead of 8 x groups of 4 they want 4 x groups of 8. Potentially 21 fixtures for finalists. Anyone who finishes in the top 4 are guaranteed of Champions League footy the next year (I think they said this but then also said providing they qualify so I must be missing something).

There will also be a second Europa League, not sure exactly how they are splitting them but it's supposed to be for the smaller sides.

I think the premier league teams are opposed due to fixture congestion and the other leagues are for it due to the status quo being maintained for the few top teams. Also, the other European clubs get far more money from Champions League rather than domestic. This could be the start of the slippery slope towards domestic teams not playing in domestic tournaments, pretty much meaning the end of the premier league.

I hope it doesn't go ahead but can't see UEFA caring too much about the English teams opinions.

 

[Mark1989]

If ever other major league agrees and we don't it will probably happen regardless I suspect.

Imo the current format is fine and does not need changing, if I was to change anything it would be the teams that don't make it past the group stop getting put into the europa league

 

[robfosters]

If ever other major league agrees and we don't it will probably happen regardless I suspect.

Imo the current format is fine and does not need changing, if I was to change anything it would be the teams that don't make it past the group stop getting put into the europa league

I agree, and before anyone jumps on it, it’s not because of Chelsea beating us in the final last year, it’s just normal to me. You enter a competition, you go out, you’re out, that’s it. You shouldn’t be put into another competition as consolation, as that’s just unfair to the teams who have already battled their way through the qualifiers and group stages.

 

[HangTime]

It's all relative though, you could make an argument that the clubs dropping down from the CL into the Europa have also battled their way through the qualifier i.e. their performance in the previous season that got them into the CL in the first place. They get lumped in a group with MC and Juve or whatever and by comparison have had a much tougher ride than the sides getting through to Europa last 32 or whatever. That said, I don't agree with it either, it's clearly some form of safety net to protect revenue for the bigger clubs.

Going back to the OP, I would be OK with that if only the top 2 qualified from each group, straight to quarterfinal. They would need to make sure the PL drops to 18 clubs like UEFA asked for years ago though. I could also see a potential scenario where teams in the CL don't play in the League cup, due to the midweek fixture congestion. You'd basically be saying every team in the CL is guaranteed to play at least 14 matches, which is a lot more than the 6 it is today. The teams playing in Europe already get a bye to the third(?) round as it is, may as well remove them altogether.