January 15 – Bayern Munich boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says UEFA are considering making changes to the Champions League’s structure to make it more compelling to fans and sponsors.
Plans could include a “week of football,” Rummenigge told Bayern’s TV channel.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has not ruled out some time in the future bringing back the mini-World Cup format for the climax to the Champions League that proved such a success with fans even though it was introduced as an emergency measure because of Covid-19.
Rummenigge confirmed that staging both semi-finals and the final in one city, like last time in Lisbon, was one of the proposals being considered.
“We are talking about something similar to the Super Bowl final in the US. Football would be providing a real highlight at the end of the season,” he said.
The Lisbon last-eight climax, Rummenigge said, was “the most thrilling time the Champions League has experienced in the history of the competition.”
“It was a knockout format with the winner taking all. The loser could no longer count on a second leg as the encounter was decided in only one game.”
There are also talks going on, he said, about tweaking the group stage to make it less predictable.
“For us … we qualified for the knockout stage after only four games,” said the former head of the European Club Association.
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