Will 48 teams soon be fighting for the crown of European club football? According to an English media report, UEFA and the European club association ECA are close to an agreement on an increase in the Champions League.
Munich – European Championship topped up! World Championship increased! Will the Champions League follow now? The Times reports that UEFA and the European Club Association ECA are planning to artificially inflate the Champions League and are close to an agreement. The goal is to give the Champions League four additional matchdays per season.
According to the report, there are to be two reform proposals:
Option 1: In the future, 48 instead of 32 clubs will compete and play six instead of four teams in the eight groups. This means that each team will have to play ten group matches instead of six.
Option 2: The preliminary round will continue to be played with 32 teams, but instead of going straight into the knockout round, there will be an additional group phase.
Do all semi-finalists automatically qualify for the next season?
As reported by “The Times”, the reform is to be implemented from the 2014/25 season onwards. Then another reform could also come into force. In the future, not only the Champions League winner, but also all semi-finalists will automatically qualify for the following season in the top division.