Europe's clubs divided over Champions League reform

The battle over the future of the Champions League will resume on Monday and Tuesday when the European Club Association (ECA) meets in Geneva and the leadership faces rebellion from members.

ECA, led by Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, is closely involved in proposals to reshape Europe's main club competition from 2024.

The proposals were presented by European football's governing body UEFA in May although details had leaked earlier.

The reforms include the introduction of weekend fixtures, four groups of eight, and a tiered system with relegation and promotion that would see the top six teams in each group automatically qualify for the following year's competition.

ECA, which boasts of "more than 230 members", faced an outcry from many of those clubs and from national leagues which would be hit hard by the scheme.

"A semi-closed league with more matches... threatens to enormously impoverish the Spanish league," said Javier Tebas of La Liga.

England's Premier League issued a statement saying: "The domestic game should continue to be the priority for professional clubs."
"It eliminates the access to the top flight of European competitions through domestic leagues. Fans will gradually lose interest in domestic leagues and those leagues would be further economically damaged."
- 'It will kill the dream' -
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"Five or six large influential European clubs within the ECA have a large part in the reform proposal but each tries to get it endorsed by the other so as not to lose credibility."
After a meeting of its executive board on August 16, ECA said in a statement: "Our members have made clear that the current structure of UEFA Club Competitions is not serving the interests of the majority of clubs, particularly those outside of the largest domestic competitions."
He said that "nothing is decided" but, he predicted, "there will still be more European matches, groups with 16 matches and a strengthening of the elite."