A UEFA Executive Committee met ahead of Saturday’s Champions League Final to review potential changes to European competition formats, and one significant update now looks set to be ratified.
Arsenal are believed to be among several clubs who raised concerns over the structure of the Champions League knockout stages. Despite finishing third in the new 36-team league format, the Gunners were drawn to play the first leg of both their quarter-final and semi-final ties at home. Many within the game argue that hosting the second leg offers a competitive advantage, allowing teams to approach the away leg more conservatively before returning to the comfort of their home stadium to decide the tie.
Higher finish, greater reward
Under the newly agreed proposal, from next season onward, the team that finishes higher in the league stage will be guaranteed to play the second leg at home. This will apply across the Champions League, Europa League and UEFA Conference League. The idea is to create a greater incentive to finish at the top end of the table, rather than just inside the top eight.
Had this rule been in place this season, Arsenal would have travelled to the Bernabéu and Parc des Princes first before hosting Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates. It reflects a shift toward rewarding performance in the league format with tangible advantages in the knockouts.
Other proposed changes were dismissed, including giving clubs the choice of leg order and suggestions to scrap extra time if aggregate scores are level. Perhaps most disappointing to managers and supporters is that playoff winners will still not be seeded, meaning group winners can still face tougher opponents early on, as happened when Liverpool drew PSG despite topping the table.
The growing commercial influence
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin frequently cites “entertainment value” and increased opportunity as the reasons for ongoing changes, but privately, the motivation is often financial. More matches, more big names, and longer stays in the competition mean more revenue for clubs, broadcasters, and sponsors alike.
What began as a tournament exclusively for champions has now expanded to include up to six Premier League clubs. With such growth, the pressure to protect high-profile participants has increased. The new structure ensures eight group games and a safety net via playoffs, making it difficult for top sides to miss out on the latter stages.
The concern is that football at this level is becoming overly contrived. Once clubs reach the quarter-finals, he argues, they should be ready to stand on their own two feet, without further protection.
What are your thoughts?
Dan Smith
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I really thought the “no extra time” proposal would be ratified too.
Extra time during the second leg of a knockout game clearly gives the home team an undue advantage.
Or, maybe it’s also a “reward” for finishing higher up in the group stage!
We all know full well that the champions league in all it’s guises since the day’s of only the league winners entering, is nothing more than a money making scam.
All the big boys wanted their piece of the pie, but as only one team can win the league in any given season, meant that the other big teams were missing out on the action regarding the financial rewards.
No matter how we dress it up, the Champions League in its current state is nothing more than a cash cow for all the big boys.
Oh for the days when we had the European Cup, UEFA Cup, and the Cup Winners Cup. Those were the days.👍🤦♂️
Wow, I’m actually agreeing with everything you’ve written in your post Derek 😲👍
Herr Drier,
What’s going on, is it the Weather, is it something in the Water, have the Stars aligned, is it a full moon. Whatever it is, it needs to stop. People will start talking.🤣😂👍
HD
Turning back the clock is not straightforward and the generations coming through since the change have an expectation that there is top4 participation. What went before is probably and enigma to those who didn’t know the previous format. God forbid being knocked out in the first round – a massive void for the remainder of the season. Perhaps it should be renamed the European League
At least back in the old days, we generally supported whichever home team won the league the season before. Now, its Arsenal as numero uno