September 25 – UEFA has unveiled further details of its third tier club competition, the UEFA Conference League, which will be introduced in the 2021/22 season.
The new tournament will feature 32 teams in eight groups of four and will form the lowest tier of the European club game behind the Champions League and the Europa League.
The European governing body says it has introduced the new competitions aimed at Europe’s mid-ranking leagues and clubs because of “widespread demand”. The competition is to make European club football more accessible to clubs from less powerful European nations.
“The new UEFA club competition makes UEFA’s club competitions more inclusive than ever before,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. “There will be more matches for more clubs, with more associations represented in the group stages. This competition was borne out of ongoing dialogue with clubs through the European Club Association (ECA).”
“There was a widespread demand by all clubs to increase their chances of participating more regularly in European competition. This has been achieved with a strategic approach and in accordance with UEFA’s objective of having both more quality and more inclusivity in our club competitions.”
England will have just one entrant in the Europa Conference League. There will be a knock-on effect on the Europa League with teams finishing third in the second tier competition dropping into the Europa Conference League, similar to third-place Champions League club’s fate of relegation to the Europa League. The winners of the Europa Conference League will be rewarded with a spot in the Europa League group stages the following season.
The new competition will be played for the first time in 2021 with matches on Thursday and kick-off times at 18:45 CET and 21:00 CET.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1730583379labto1730583379ofdlr1730583379owedi1730583379sni@o1730583379fni1730583379