Many clubs wanted to form a breakaway European Super League and refrain from playing the UEFA Champions League. But now it seems the European Super League is gone for now and the UEFA Champions League is set to be reformed.
Andrea Agnelli, the chairman of Juventus and the European Clubs Association, has said the change is imminent to the UEFA Champions League.
The new revamp of the Champions League would see a 36-team league table replace the current Champions League group stage. Each team would play 10 matches before progressing to the knockout rounds. This will be done according to the Swiss system.
Agnelli said: “I think we’re very close to my ideal Champions League, I think the ‘Swiss system’ is beautiful.”
“I think it will provide great opportunities for those teams participating in that competition. It will provide the knockouts that are the essence of any competition. It’s very, very close to an ideal Champions League. We’re maybe just a couple of weeks away.”
If the changes for the Champions League are approved by all then it will be implemented in 2024. But there’s another thing which would need to be taken care of. All the European leagues will have to decide to reduce the number of teams playing top-flight domestic football.
Agnelli would like to see one-third of the games played in European competitions. He said: “We do think that currently for competitive balance purposes 20 teams in leagues are too many.”
“There is an overall element that could actually be worked out altogether in the interests of everyone.”
The European Clubs Association chairman also suggested that there can be a ban on transfers between Champions League clubs.
He added on that matter: “No triple-figures transfers between Champions League participating clubs maybe would [mean] focusing instead on champion players in smaller countries allowing us only to buy players there.”
“These are elements we are discussing but certainly cost control will be one of the biggest challenges in terms of reforms going forward.”
So as things stand, the changes to the Champions League is imminent and in all probability it will be implemented in 2024. Hope the changes turn out to be good and makes the tournament more exciting and interesting.
