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Uefa plans third European club competition from 2021

nattydredd

Non Contributor
Jul 20, 2015
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Frome the BBC :-

Uefa plans third European club competition from 2021

BBC Link

Uefa plans to introduce a third European club competition alongside the Champions League and Europa League from 2021.
Uefa head of competitions Andrea Agnelli said "the green light has been given", pending approval.
He did not give any more details on how the tournament would be organised or when it would be staged.
Agnelli, who is also chairman of Italian champions Juventus, said: "The current model needs modernising."
Speaking at the annual general assembly of the European Club Association in Croatia, he added: "A detailed assessment of the existing international match calendar is required prior to presenting a new model post-2024."

Maybe a competition that included "Cup Winners" could be the answer...oh hang on.
 

Lilbaz

Just call me Baz
Apr 1, 2005
41,363
74,893
Let me guess a competition for either the smaller teams that currently qualify or the biggest? The big get richer the small get fucked?
 

nattydredd

Non Contributor
Jul 20, 2015
1,103
4,412
This from Aug 30 just gone. :-

Forbes Link

But according to German newspaper Sportbild, the people who run European soccer will also discuss reforming the structure of the Champions’ League and Europa League, which may involve the creation of a third European competition below the Europa League.

There have been just two pan-European club competitions since the Cup Winners’ Cup was abolished after 1999, but this may be about to change.

It was reportedly originally proposed that the Europa League would be expanded to 64 teams so that it could involve more teams from smaller nations, but Sportbild's report suggests that UEFA are planning to go in the other direction.

Sportbild claims the Europa League will be shrunk from 48 teams to 32 teams, making it more palatable to clubs who often struggle to balance the demands of the Europa League and their domestic league matches. This will also make it more attractive to advertisers due to the higher sporting quality.

Below that, a third European competition would be created with 32 teams in it, allowing smaller teams to play European matches. The new competition could come into effect as early as 2021 if the plans come to fruition.

]
 

LSUY

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2005
24,010
66,826
Pointless. The only people who care about the Europa League are clubs like Burnley who rarely get into Europe or Arsenal who want to use it as a stepping stone to the Champions League. A third competition won't be popular - fans of smaller clubs tend to want to watch their team play big historic clubs while any big club that happens to fall into the competition will treat it like they did the Intertoto Cup.
 

Drink!Drink!

Well-Known Member
Oct 10, 2014
1,356
5,015
doesn't seem to be any official information at all about how this will work.

THere is talk that the new competition is primarily for teams in smaller leagues that are currently mostly squeezed out of the CL. But no detail. I think it is possible that the "big" leagues who have guaranteed CL spots and privileges won't be part of the new competition.

So, what would that mean? No teams from Eng, Sp, Fr, It and Germany. Teams from other leagues who miss out on CL or EL by losing in the final qualification round drop into the new competition alongside guaranteed spots for the winners of smaller leagues i.e. Hungary, Cyprus, Finland etc.

Basically, eight groups of four teams made up of teams who just missed out on CL/EL plus some league winners from the "small" leagues???

Hardly a glamour competition, although on other hand, like the new nations league, gives smaller nation teams a chance to compete against similar quality opponents.

On the other third hand, I see teams in smaller leagues opposed to this new competition as they say the money will just ensure the current top teams in their leagues cement their position as they will get bigger incomes than the other clubs - the same effect that the CL has had on the bigger leagues

UEFA do like complicated
 

allatsea

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
8,865
16,053
doesn't seem to be any official information at all about how this will work.

THere is talk that the new competition is primarily for teams in smaller leagues that are currently mostly squeezed out of the CL. But no detail. I think it is possible that the "big" leagues who have guaranteed CL spots and privileges won't be part of the new competition.

So, what would that mean? No teams from Eng, Sp, Fr, It and Germany. Teams from other leagues who miss out on CL or EL by losing in the final qualification round drop into the new competition alongside guaranteed spots for the winners of smaller leagues i.e. Hungary, Cyprus, Finland etc.

Basically, eight groups of four teams made up of teams who just missed out on CL/EL plus some league winners from the "small" leagues???

Hardly a glamour competition, although on other hand, like the new nations league, gives smaller nation teams a chance to compete against similar quality opponents.

On the other third hand, I see teams in smaller leagues opposed to this new competition as they say the money will just ensure the current top teams in their leagues cement their position as they will get bigger incomes than the other clubs - the same effect that the CL has had on the bigger leagues

UEFA do like complicated
As Burnley are proving the ‘smaller’ teams can’t compete in both a European competition and do well in their home league. They simply don’t have the resources.
 

cliff jones

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
4,059
6,513
Pointless. The only people who care about the Europa League are clubs like Burnley who rarely get into Europe or Arsenal who want to use it as a stepping stone to the Champions League. A third competition won't be popular - fans of smaller clubs tend to want to watch their team play big historic clubs while any big club that happens to fall into the competition will treat it like they did the Intertoto Cup.

guessing your condescending attitude means you're relatively new to all this?
 

TheChosenOne

A dislike or neg rep = fat fingers
Dec 13, 2005
47,873
49,701
I think the beautiful game has reached a saturation point with both television and physical attendance at matches - trying to squeeze more out of what we already have might be the breaking of the whole thing.

I've gone selective,,obviously I watch all the Spurs games I can see but I tend now to pick and choose neutral games.
 

Westmorlandspur

Well-Known Member
Feb 1, 2013
2,685
4,499
There was something a few weeks ago that said they would be taking 16 teams off the europa so would have same as champ lge 32. These would go into the other comp. presumably with other smaller teams. No doubt the winner will get straight into next season europa, what more could you want.
 

Metalhead

But that's a debate for another thread.....
Nov 24, 2013
25,351
38,294
guessing your condescending attitude means you're relatively new to all this?
I've got to agree with @L.S.U.Yiddo on this. I wouldn't call it a condescending attitude. I'm guessing that you've been a Spurs fan for a long time and you'll remember when the three European competitions meant something. Unfortunately, due to commercial reasons, only the Champions league really means anything now. Our Uefa cup in 1984 was huge but a Europa League win, whilst fantastic wouldn't be as prestigious. Unless Uefa slim down the CL or bring back a knockout competition, which they won't then I can't see the point of another European trophy myself because everything apart from the CL seems like an afterthought.
 

sebo_sek

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2005
6,023
5,168
I've got to agree with @L.S.U.Yiddo on this. I wouldn't call it a condescending attitude. I'm guessing that you've been a Spurs fan for a long time and you'll remember when the three European competitions meant something. Unfortunately, due to commercial reasons, only the Champions league really means anything now. Our Uefa cup in 1984 was huge but a Europa League win, whilst fantastic wouldn't be as prestigious. Unless Uefa slim down the CL or bring back a knockout competition, which they won't then I can't see the point of another European trophy myself because everything apart from the CL seems like an afterthought.
I have to disagree. A Europa win would for me at least be as huge as it gets. Blimey, a league cup win would be huge. Europa gets you CL qualification and a massive shiny trophy in the cabinet. Not only the Prem title and CL carry any meaning. Either the footbslling world or myself have gone bonkers.

I think UEFA are beginning to relise that cancelling the CWC was a terrible mistake.
 

Metalhead

But that's a debate for another thread.....
Nov 24, 2013
25,351
38,294
I have to disagree. A Europa win would for me at least be as huge as it gets. Blimey, a league cup win would be huge. Europa gets you CL qualification and a massive shiny trophy in the cabinet. Not only the Prem title and CL carry any meaning. Either the footbslling world or myself have gone bonkers.

I think UEFA are beginning to relise that cancelling the CWC was a terrible mistake.
I understand totally. It's perception and to me, my perception is that Uefa have built up the CL to the extent that the EL feels second rate in comparison and evidently uefa must have acknowledged it to an extent by repackaging it from the uefa cup to the Europa league and then adding on the Champions League qualification and let's face it, the competition is a slog. The good thing about the old formats was that you ended up with genuine class teams in the uefa cup because only the league winners could get in the European cup.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to win any trophy because we need to start winning silverware to have something to show for our efforts and I'm not naive enough to think that we'll win either of the top two competitions in the short term but the way that uefa have set up the CL, the perception that I have is that anything else would be much poorer than the glamour of the CL. The uefa cup never used to feel like that.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
As a start just stop the third placed group stage champions league team dropping into the europa league. That would be better than introducing a third competition.
 

pffft

some kind of member
Jul 19, 2013
1,527
5,540
That actually sounds like an improvement. Take the shit teams out of the Europa, and make it a manageable size. Move it from a Thursday night and it really becomes attractive.

But then Arsenal wouldn't get to play any European foo...

Oh I get it now.

You know what, I think you're onto something.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
As Burnley are proving the ‘smaller’ teams can’t compete in both a European competition and do well in their home league. They simply don’t have the resources.

This, and bare in mind Burnley are a PL team so massively richer than their counterparts in the likes of Bulgaria or wherever so if the PL teams struggle with it on their budgets imagine how teams from these smaller leagues feel.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
That actually sounds like an improvement. Take the shit teams out of the Europa, and make it a manageable size. Move it from a Thursday night and it really becomes attractive.

Why not just trim the Europa league down a bit and leave it at that though? Surely half the reason they're cutting it down is because they've realised there are too many games in it that not enough people care about for them to make any money out of them, so how does moving those games into a different competition make them any more attractive? If nobody gives a shit about PAOK vs Braga or whatever then why will people suddenly start caring when they're playing it in an even less prestigious competition than the Europa League?

If it's all about making the EL more attractive then just cut it down to 32 teams, stop the CL teams dropping into it, and stop playing it on Thursday nights.
 

DEFchenkOE

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2006
10,527
8,052
What's the alternative to playing the europa league on Thursday nights? Nobody will watch it on a Tues or weds when the CL is on.
 

Everlasting Seconds

Well-Known Member
Jan 9, 2014
14,914
26,616
Only a great idea if it comes with a revamp of Europa League (which we will be playing in next season btw). I love the Europa League, but it has so much unleashed potential.
 
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