UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin faces tough challenges on his promise to bring greater ‘competitive balance’ to the Champions League.
The Slovenian made that pledge when he came to power and will be re-elected unopposed tomorrow at a critical time in UEFA’s evolution.
A third competition will please some of the ambitious clubs in smaller nations but the real battle goes on at the top of the table.
Outwith the World Cup almost all of the wealth- advertising and television rights- is in UEFA hands with FIFA looking to set up an expanded World Club Cup to muscle in on commercial income.
Within UEFA the top four nations have secured 16 automatic group places in the Champions League with pressure growing for even more influence with the elephant in the room being that certain clubs are assured of a group stage place with clubs like AC Milan, Chelsea and Arsenal currently missing out.
Celtic and nations such as Holland, Belgium and Portugal want to ensure that they retain access to the Champions League and a slice of the revenue that they generate in order to remain competitive.
Summing up the challenge AP News reports:
Ceferin often cites “competitive balance” as a goal, and soccer that is “fair, unpredictable, united and open.”
Defining that is hard, beyond creating a third-tier competition to kick off in 2021. Calls on lawmakers for help within European Union rules have been tough to follow through.
“We would like to see that these are not just promises but for UEFA to put in place concrete proposals and implement them,” the European Leagues group said in a statement.
Domestic leagues want a “fairer and more equal revenue distribution model” in the Champions League from 2021 in talks aiming to reach an agreement this season.
The influential European Club Association says 2024 is the time to enact serious Champions League reform.
This season Celtic fell at the third of four qualifying rounds, if they win the SPFL title this season they will again face four qualifying rounds to reach the group phase.
Peter Lawwell has been in the executive board of the European Club Association since March 2014.