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UEFA Plan 14 Champions League Group Stage Match-Days!

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Plans are underway to create FOURTEEN match days in the revamped Champions League group stages from 2021!

UEFA’s executive committee met in Switzerland yesterday with the European Leagues as part of a consultation process.

The SPFL is one of the 38 leagues represented by the European Leagues who are resisting further streamlining of the elite tournament to keep the group stages open to as many clubs as possible.

UEFA has previously discussed change with the European Club Association which is heavily influenced by the clubs from the richer leagues with Juventus chief Andrea Agnelli (president of the ECA) the driving force behind changes to effectively create a closed shop carving up the prize money.

Sportstar reports:

The revamped tournament would not see games played at weekends, which would have sparked uproar among the domestic leagues.

The top five teams in each group would be automatically qualified for the next edition, effectively making the Champions League far harder for clubs from smaller countries to play in.

There would be 14 matchdays in the group stage instead of six, with teams continuing to play opponents home and away. That would necessitate drastic changes to domestic schedules, with league and cup matches currently also being played in midweek.

With the top five in each group securing their place in the competition for the following season interest would be retained throughout most of the 14 matchdays.

Playing 14 midweek games would rule out three months of midweek domestic matches and also create a push towards weekend European matches at the next round of negotiations.

CLICK HERE for Sportstar report

CLICK HERE for Reuters report

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