Champions League Rules Feel Like Trojan Horse for Greece and Other Nations

We know that both UEFA and FIFA like to tinker with the formats of competitions. The European Championships, for example, expanded to 24 teams in 2016. And, UEFA is experimenting with a multinational hosting approach this summer for the postponed Euro 2020. The World Cup in 2026 will expand from 36 to 48 teams. 

On the face of it, expansion is good news for nations like Greece. We know that Greece misses out on the World Cup and Euros more often than not, so expansion will mean a better chance to qualify in future. Comparable nations (in terms of football stature) like Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland will have similar feelings. 

But when it comes to the expansion of club competitions, things don’t always work out that way. You may have heard that there are new plans for the Champions League. Alongside a new formal for the group stage, there will also be an expansion from 32 to 36 teams. On the face of it, this looks like a positive for Greek teams: More places = a better chance to qualify, right?

Wild Card Gives Big Clubs Another Chance

And yet, it’s not that simple. We know as the Champions League evolves, it becomes more weighted in favour of the bigger nations with the strongest clubs. Even the name “Champions League” is misleading when a large number of the competitors aren’t champions, and many league winners across Europe have to fight it out in qualifying for a chance to appear in the competition proper. 

Most interesting in the new proposals, which are expected to be ratified soon, is the wild card rule. This means that two of the four extra places will go to teams through a wild card selection. This will be based on UEFA’s club coefficients, which, as you might expect, is weighted towards the bigger clubs. 

For example, looking at the current English football Premier League betting odds, we can see that struggling Liverpool might not qualify for the Champions League this term. Under the new proposal, Liverpool would be given a place in the Champions League regardless. If the rules were applied this year, you might also see a place given to Juventus if they failed to finish in Serie A’s top four at the end of the season.

Opposition from the European Leagues Association

So, in this case, the expansion is a means to ensure that some of the bigger clubs still get into the competition should they have a bad season. It’s not abundantly clear what UEFA intends to do with the extra two places, but it’s not guaranteed that they will go to some of the leagues of lesser stature. It’s perhaps telling that the European Leagues Association, which represents 37 national leagues across the continent, is said to be against the proposals. 

The European Leagues Association is a broader voice than the ECA (European Clubs Association). The latter tends to be more representative of the more powerful clubs. As you might expect, the latter is more in favour of the changes than the former. We know, of course, that many voices within European football are calling for a breakaway league – a European Super League. This would further close the door to teams from countries like Greece. 

The decision on ratifying the new Champions League rules has been delayed until the 19th of April. It will be sold as a chance to expand the competition, giving more chances to teams to qualify. But in reality, it looks like another step towards carving up the spoils for the elite clubs. With each new change, the Champions League looks a world away from the idea that it would be a competition for the champions of each European nation to compete against each other.