EPL against Champions League reform

EPL against Champions League reform

English Premier League is against UEFA desire to reform the Champions League by increasing the number of matches.

The debate between the Premier League and UEFA have been going on for several months. This process was started by talks about the creation of a Super League, in which the Premier League clubs would get six places outright and good financial premiums in comparison with the current tournaments. But all organizations have imposed an embargo on the idea, threatening to exclude the players from international competitions.

As an alternative, UEFA proposes reforming the Champions League. To this end, the organization intends to increase the number of teams from 32 to 36 and introduce the Swiss tournament system. That is, there will be 10 rounds during the tournament, where the winners will play with the winners, the losers with the losers, and those who have drawn, respectively, with the same.

This is intended to increase the number of top matches and bring additional cash flows to UEFA and the participating clubs. This is followed by either the standard round of 16 playoffs or the final eight, as was the case last season.

But the Premier League disagrees with this plan because of the number of matches in the first place. It's all the fault of the congestion of the championship calendar, the FA Cup and the League Cup. And when instead of six matches at the stage of the group stage there will be ten confrontations, this will radically worsen the picture. Arsene Wenger expressed his opinion on this matter explicitly, directly stating the desire of the clubs and UEFA,

“Modern football must find a compromise between what clubs want - more money - and what the fans want - simplicity, clarity and competition with meaning. There are also media outlets that are beginning to dictate what should happen. So to be honest, there is a big battle coming up in the future. I don't like the proposed Champions League model at all,” Wenger told BeIN Sports.

For us casual fans, the new UEFA Champions League system, which should go into development from the 2024/25 season, has more benefits. The top teams in the Swiss system will get the same teams more frequently and the interest in matches will increase. On the other hand, it is really fraught with an increase in injuries, difficulties with calendars, flights, due to which many clubs will openly merge undesirable tournaments.

This is already happening with the domestic cups in England, with the top clubs rotating to give the best players a break. It is difficult to imagine how the attitude of the giants towards the Champions League will turn out if this format is approved.