The Premier League can soon expect to have five teams in the Champions League after Uefa confirmed changes to the format of its competitions after a year of intense debate.
Thirty-six teams will take part in a reformed Champions League from 2024 and be guaranteed eight games in a “Swiss league” system. This is down from a proposed 10 matches, part of a crucial compromise in Vienna that also involved movement in how two places will be awarded.
Controversial plans to allow teams to enter the Champions League based on historical performance in Europe have been abandoned. Instead, a place will be given to each of the two countries whose clubs collectively performed best in Europe the previous year and will be awarded on league position.
If the rules were applied this season, the extra places would go to clubs from England and the Netherlands. In four of the past five seasons – and six of the past 10 – England would have received one of the places.
The financial dominance of the Premier League means this outcome would continue to be likely. It is possible England could have seven clubs in Europe’s premier competition, with the winners of the Champions League and Europa League getting a place in the following season’s competition if they have not qualified through league position. One Uefa official, though, said that would be as likely as “a meteorite hitting this room”.
Senior sources within the English top-flight – which had been strongly opposed to the previous proposals – described Uefa’s solution as “half‑decent”. It was welcomed by the European Club Association, which had backed the scrapped club coefficient idea. The ECA said the reforms were “driven by collective rather than self-interest” and gave “the opportunity for future growth of European football in a sustainable, responsible and inclusive way”.
Uefa’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, was keen to stress the reforms mean “sporting merit” is front and centre, even though – were the changes applied this season – Arsenal could qualify for the Champions League without having finished in the top four or played in Europe.
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
“Uefa has clearly shown today that we are fully committed to respecting the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principle of open competitions, with qualification based on sporting merit, fully in line with the values and solidarity-based European sports model,” he said.
With Champions League games set to take place in January for the first time, there may be a knock-on effect on League Cup semi-finals and FA Cup third-round replays. The Premier League said: “We will continue to work constructively with all stakeholders to ensure there is a complementary balance between European and domestic football that can help the game at all levels to thrive.”
The Football Supporters’ Association said the reforms had “put the brakes on the worst excesses of Europe’s biggest clubs” and that dialogue with Uefa had “not been in vain”. Uefa has consulted supporter groups and said two meetings – one with Premier League supporters in Manchester two weeks ago – had influenced the outcome.
Although the changes have rolled back some decisions it remains to be seen whether they deliver on the desires of fans. In a statementpublished On Monday, the influential Football Supporters Europe had called for no increase in European matches, no qualification based on historical performance and greater financial solidarity. Of those objectives, two have not been met and the third, a Uefa official said, would be addressed at an as yet unspecified point.
