UEFA’s revised Champions League qualification plans ‘fair’ and ‘add value’ – ECA

A revised proposal to admit two teams to the Champions League who miss out on regular qualification based on their historic performance is “fair” and “adds value”, according to one of the vice-chairman of the European Club Association.

Original plans for the new European competition formats from 2024, which were approved by UEFA’s executive committee in the hours after the Super League launched last April, included two places in the 36-team Champions League group phase for sides based on their UEFA co-efficient ranking.

A club’s co-efficient is based on performance in Europe over the previous five seasons, and it was proposed that the top two clubs in that table who had missed out on the Champions League via domestic position would enter the group phase, so long as those clubs had done enough to qualify for one of the lesser club competitions.

That could have led to Manchester United, for example, finishing sixth or seventh and leapfrogging a Premier League rival into the continent’s premier competition.

Europe’s top leagues, including all the clubs in the Premier League, had been understood to be opposed to the potential for leapfrogging. The European Leagues umbrella group, which includes the Premier League, and fans’ organisations insist qualification has to be earned on the pitch.

UEFA has now tweaked the proposal, so that the co-efficient places must be awarded only to clubs who have finished immediately outside the Champions League qualification places in their country – so fifth in the Premier League.

ECA vice-chairman and UEFA club competitions committee member Aki Riihilahti believes the new proposal strikes the right balance.

“Referring to the European performance (co-efficient) spots, I think when you add