Boab 73 Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 MICHEL PLATINI'S sweeping reforms to the Champions League format will be enforced. Although he has agreed to postpone a final decision on reform by a month after opposition from leagues and clubs, he made it clear he is prepared to force through the changes. As reported in later editions of last night's SportTimes, the Scottish Cup - and the FA Cup winners - can now qualify for the Champions League, while the final of Europe's top club competition will be held on a Saturday. advertisement Platini said: "The English FA Cup is one of the greatest competitions and the winner really deserves to be represented in the Champions League rather than the team that comes fourth." The Platini plans include: # England, Spain and Italy have three teams qualifying automatically for the group stage via their domestic league. The champions of Europe's leading 12 countries would be guaranteed a place in the group phase. # The top 16 countries, including England and Scotland, would have domestic cup winners entering a qualifying competition with four group stage places up for grabs. # Six group stage places reserved for the champions of the 40 lowest leagues among Uefa's 53 member countries, who would play-off in three qualifying rounds. # The final played on a Saturday night rather than Wednesday night in a stadium with a minimum 75,000 capacity with 75% of tickets reserved for fans, including children. # The Uefa Cup changed to a similar format as the Champions League, with the Intertoto Cup scrapped. Platini added: "We need to ensure football is more balanced so that the rich do not become much richer. "If another proposal is better than my philosophy that is fine, but I doubt they will come up with something better." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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