By Andrew Warshaw
April 10 – The much maligned Europa League could be scrapped in favour of doubling the size of the Champions League according to a German report.
In what would represent the biggest single shake-up of European club football since the demise of the old European Cup, UEFA President Michel Platini (pictured) is contemplating turning the Champions League into a 64-team competition.
The concept, which would not start until 2016, came to light in the German mass circulation newspaper Bild.
Platini has long been at pains to defend the Europa League as a prestigious, credible tournament but it is clear there is mounting disparity between Europe’s two competitions.
Despite efforts to rebrand the Europa League – the UEFA Cup in its former guise – Europe’s secondary club tournament generates far lower revenue than the Champions League and is treated with marginal respect in some countries, notably England.
To address this, Platini apparently wants to increase the number of teams in the Champions League in 2016.
According to Bild, the strongest European nations such as Spain, England and Germany would be given six berths each, with the top four qualifying automatically.
At the same time, the reforms would provide more scope for domestic champions from smaller countries.
No changes can be made until the start of the new European television deal, but the reforms could lead to the winners of national cup competitions, currently given places in the Europa League, going into a Champions League playoff round instead.
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