The UEFA Champions League could be set for a new and controversial change. The board is planning an idea to change the way that qualification for the tournament works in the upcoming editions.

According to rumours, clubs are asking for two highest-ranked clubs in UEFA’s coefficient ranking system not to qualify via traditional means. This would help underperforming clubs achieve a spot in Europe’s top flight even if they are unable to secure a high enough league finish in any given season.

UEFA Champions League set for coefficient system?

Interestingly, this was one of the ideas that was discussed during the initial European Super League plans. However, it was scrapped following mass protests from fans all over the world.

Members of the European Club Association are lobbying UEFA to have two teams qualify for the Champions League based on coefficient over the previous five years.

The move will benefit clubs from the bigger leagues.

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Clubs like Arsenal or Roma, who haven’t been able to achieve a top four finish in their leagues in recent years, would be able to appear in the Champions League almost every season through this mechanism. This would apply even if they haven’t been able to perform well domestically.

The 2024 edition of the Champions League is set to expand to 36 teams, and will consist of one big group instead of eight smaller ones. Should the new idea be implemented, it would make the competition that much more similar to the original European Super League plans.

UEFA will be holding a general meeting in Austria this week, and the idea will be discussed there. Aleksander Ceferin has said that any new change to the competition would only benefit clubs from lower leagues to qualify.