Aleksander Ceferin: New-look Champions League will be ‘truly open’ competition

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says the new-look Champions League will be a completely open competition despite the qualification system appearing to be weighted in favour of Europe’s top domestic leagues.

A revamped format for the 2024-25 season onwards was finally signed off by UEFA in Vienna on Tuesday, and included the allocation of an extra qualification spot to one club each from the two countries with the best collective performance records in Europe in the previous season.

In four of the last five seasons, England would have gained an extra place if this system had been in use.

The coefficient scoring system awards four bonus points to each team which reaches the Champions League group phase, handing an instant advantage in the race for the extra places to the countries afforded four automatic qualification spots.

A previous proposal to award two places to clubs who had failed to qualify but had the best club coefficient scores over the last five seasons was scrapped amid concerns it was too favourable to the continent’s heavyweights, and Ceferin was confident the new model would find favour with the vast majority of people.

“It’s truly open, it’s as open as it can be,” he said at the end of UEFA Congress on Wednesday.

“Whatever you do in football, somebody says you didn’t do it right. Even if you score, they say you should score with the other foot.

“Ninety nine point nine per cent of football fans know this is a completely open competition. It’s for more small and middle-sized countries and France, which is correct, gets one spot more.

“We are all happy and when you see national associations, clubs and leagues and fans being happy you should enjoy the moment, because it will not last.”

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