The Champions League has been something of a misnomer for years. The name implies that the tournament is solely for the champions of the respective European leagues.
But since the birth of the Champions League in the 1992-93 season, seven eventual tournament winners did so without being the reigning league champions with Manchester United starting the trend in 1999 and current holders Chelsea keeping it in fashion.
Of course there is good reason for this. If the European Cup was only open to domestic champions then the likes of Barcelona could face the league champions of smaller countries such as Luxembourg, Moldova and Iceland.
Admittedly countries like these would benefit from increased revenue but it would involve a reduction in quality and most importantly for UEFA, less TV income.
Balance
The current 32-team format works well. The most important leagues with the world’s best players such as La Liga, the Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A provide three to four entrants each while there is still an opportunity for teams from lesser leagues to qualify.
Currently there is a good balance between quality and quantity.
But UEFA is now thinking of meddling with this format by doubling the Champions League to 64 teams from 2015.
The suggestion is that big leagues such as the Premier League could see up to eight of their teams qualify which would have an adverse effect on the quality on offer.
And why is UEFA considering such a preposterous move?
Of course it boils down to money.
Europa League
UEFA’s secondary continental tournament – the Europa League – is not a hugely popular product particularly for English Premier League teams who see it more as a burden than an opportunity to win trophies.
But scrapping the Europa League and increasing the size of the Champions League is far too drastic a measure. There are simpler and more effective ways of dealing with the problem.
In the short term UEFA could increase Europa League prize money. But in the long-term making the Europa League a far more attractive tournament would be a better bet. For example UEFA could award the Europa League winner a direct route to the group stages of the following season’s Champions League.
That would generate greater interest and respect for the Europa League
