UEFA Slots
From 2024, the
number of teams in Europe’s most prestigious club competition will rise from 32
to 36. That will make it easier for top clubs to qualify if they finish outside
their leagues’ allotted places.
UEFA wants to create four extra group stage slots for elite clubs who fail to qualify through domestic competitions. The plan was discussed by European football associations on Friday and will be formally presented to the 55 national association leaders at a meeting this week สล็อตยูฟ่า.
In the past, the
Champions League was a closed competition that saw only four groups of teams
from each country compete in a series of games to determine qualification. It
was a system that favored teams from established footballing countries.
But under a plan
approved by the UEFA executive committee last month, clubs from outside
European leagues will be allowed to join the top clubs in a single group of
eight. That means more big matches, a bigger prize and more potential fans.
The new Champions
League format will also include backup slots for teams that do not qualify
through domestic competitions. These backup slots will be awarded to two
countries whose teams perform best in European club competitions during the
previous season, according to senior UEFA sources.
A spokesman for UEFA
said that the move was in response to criticism from European leagues and fans.
Earlier this year 10 European football associations wrote to the governing body
asking that access to the competition should be based on domestic league
positions rather than historical criteria.
Currently, all the
clubs in the continent’s four biggest leagues automatically qualify for the
Champions League. This is determined via coefficients that are based on past
performances in UEFA’s Champions League and Europa League competitions.
However, that
formula is largely outdated as it fails to account for the rise of European
football as a global sport. This has led to a shift in power towards the
historically successful clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City.
That has pushed up
the cost of entry to the competition for smaller clubs. Moreover, the increased
travel expenses and the need to find additional players can become a financial
burden on smaller clubs.
The UEFA president
Aleksander Ceferin said that the new qualifying system is designed to reward
those teams with sporting merit. ”We believe that the change will benefit both
the players and the fans, as well as the broader sport of European football,”
he said.
Slot one will be
awarded to the third-placed team in UEFA’s fifth-highest league. That will be
based on coefficients points from nations performing well in European
competitions such as the Champions League and Europa League.
During the upcoming
2021/2022 season, the second-placed team in the league will also receive the
slot, if they do not already qualify for the Champions League by finishing
among the top four of their association’s league. As a result, if France’s
Ligue 1 finishes in fifth position this season, AS Monaco would be promoted to
the group stage of the UCL.
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