UEFA are considering plans to trim the Champions League group stage down to 16 teams competing in two super-groups of eight.
A report in The Guardian outlines the proposal which would involve a seeded knock-out round to produce the eight team groups giving each club seven home matches with the minnows almost certainly eased out of the scene.
The counter proposals come after comments from leading members of the European Club Association expressed a desire to reform UEFA’s prime competition.
Restricting entry to the five leading nations plus the introduction of wild-card invites were discussed serving notice to UEFA that changes were required.
As ever it all boils down to money with concerns on the continent that from next season the club that finishes bottom of the English Premier League will pick up THREE times as much as the team that wins the Champions League.
Responding to the suggestion a Uefa spokesperson told the Guardian: “Uefa is in constant contact with all stakeholders, including the clubs, on all football matters. Therefore, any plans to evolve the format of our club competitions would be coordinated and negotiated together with them. There are currently no concrete proposals on the table since we are at the beginning of a new cycle (2015-18) of our club competitions.”
At present there are five places open to champions from lesser nations with Celtic reaching the group stage in 2012 and 2013 by defeating the champions of Sweden and Kazkistan.
If the new proposal was to be given the green light there would be a further qualifying round where Celtic would be drawn against one of the top 16 sides to make the group phase.
