UEFA could agree next week to changes to the Champions League format and the participation of 36 teams, according to one of the members of its executive committee.
Lars-Christer Olsson, who represents European national leagues on UEFA’s rules committee, said there could be a meeting on Wednesday if there is a proposal that can be approved.
UEFA’s club competition committee could approve a well-accepted proposal on Tuesday that calls for the abolition of the group stage.
UEFA and the leaders of the main European clubs agree to incorporate four teams and 36 clubs to play a free-for-all competition according to the “Swiss model” used in chess tournaments.
There are differences around how to allocate additional seats, the number of games each team will play and the distribution of money.
The European Clubs Association wants two spots to be reserved for teams that did not qualify but rank high in UEFA’s rankings for results in previous seasons. There are those who say that this is just a way to incorporate large teams that did not qualify.
The clubs want to face ten different opponents in a format that would create an additional 100 games.
The European Leagues, made up of 30 nations, propose that three places be reserved for national champions of countries in the middle of their classification and that each team play eight games.
The clubs’ proposal is the one that has the best chance of succeeding.
“We have to be honest and say that the clubs have had more influence (on UEFA) than we have,” Olsson said.
Another issue to be resolved is the distribution of the monetary prizes.
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