One passage of the reform summary released on UEFA’s official site is particularly significant, as it reads: “Historical success in the competition will also be acknowledged in coefficient calculation (points for previous European titles with a weighted system for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League titles)”.
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It is understood representatives from UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) discussed a variety of options to ward off the threat of a breakaway Super League. “We spoke to everyone.the feeling we had was that they always wanted to stay”. UEFA’s cowardice when dealing with the Big 4 will stunt the development of other leagues and further enhance their hold on the game in Europe.
At the moment, only the top three clubs in the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga qualify.
UEFA uses a complicated coefficient to determine the rankings of the national leagues.
That could help Celtic’s bid to qualify for the group stages but may make it harder for the rest of Scotland’s clubs to make it past the qualifiers.
Messi’s Barcelona side have been drawn alongside Brendan Rodgers’ men in the group-stages of the Champions League after the Bhoys just managed to see off Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the play-off round this week.
The Scottish champions have been placed in Group C alongside Barcelona, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Manchester City, in what is being regarded as the toughest group in the Champions League.
As Italy falls in that category, it means they will automatically get four teams directly in the Champions League groups starting from 2018.
“For this reason we must fight for everything”, he said.
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UEFA has been without a president since last December when Frenchman Michel Platini was banned for eight years by global soccer body Federation Internationale de Football Association for ethics violations, later reduced to four on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Michael van Praag, Angel Maria Villar and Aleksandar Ceferin, the heads of the Dutch, Spanish and Slovenian federations respectively, are the three candidates.
