EPFL Wants Fewer Automatic Spots In Champions League For Top Clubs

The European Professional Football Leagues organization said on Tuesday that fewer top clubs "should get automatic spots in the lucrative group stage of the Champions League," according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. EPFL Chair Lars-Christer Olsson said that he "wanted more teams from the biggest leagues to play their way through the qualifying competition instead." UEFA last year announced that it would "give more slots to teams from the four biggest leagues," effectively England, Spain, Germany and Italy, while "cutting those allocated to sides from smaller countries." Olsson said, "There is a common view among the leagues that there should be less clubs directly qualified (for the group stage) because qualification for the Champions League should mean more and give more opportunities for more teams to qualify." He added that the format to be introduced next year would "widen the gap between the rich ones and those who have less" (REUTERS, 6/6).