News outlets today have confirmed that UEFA are preparing to bring a third European club competition to our screens, alongside the Champions League and Europa League.
Details are scarce at the moment, but it is suggested that the new competition is almost certain to happen, and will start during the 2021/22 season.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is another case of money talking and will net UEFA huge profits alongside its flagship competitions. TV rights are sure to generate most of the cash, but the question I have is whether or not this is a terrible idea from the start.
Although UEFA is a not-for-profit organisation that distributes revenues, it's the football fanatic at home that gets hit with the cost. I can only speak for British viewers, but it already feels like we're being taken for a ride when it comes to TV subscriptions. Sure, there are ways to illegally stream sports games, but it really shouldn't have to come to that.
I am a match-going Liverpool supporter so I already pay £59 per ticket every couple of weeks to watch the team I love. That cost doesn't factor in travel that will cost me a further £30, and any extras that I may buy along the way such as food. To summarise, it costs me around £100 per home game. That's pricey, but I do it because I love to.
However, I also want to be able to watch away games on TV and other high profile matches around the world. To do so, I now need subscriptions to Sky Sports and BT Sport. Of course, they won't allow you to just pay for sports channels, so I end up paying for hundreds of other channels I'll never watch too.
My hope is that this new competition won't increase subscription prices for those of us wanting to watch at home. I think we're paying enough already!
Speculation
Let's take a moment to consider what kind of competition we could be looking at here.
An article in the Mirror suggests:
The Champions League is unlikely to be altered, though the Europa League will be modified to spread the quality out.
That means the current number of teams in the secondary European competition will likely fall from 48 teams to 32.
Sides from smaller nations will allegedly instead compete in the new tournament, which is reportedly set to be shown largely on online platforms.
It seems that a new criteria will be put in place to decide which teams enter the Europa League and which teams enter the new competition.
In theory, you could suggest that this may give smaller teams a better chance to progress in a European competition. Some of the entrants to these high profile competitions would actually struggle to even win lower leagues in England, for example.
My worry is that we'll see the Europa League diluted even more than it is now. The Champions League has always been a priority and the Europa League is often shown a lack of respect by supporters and even high profile clubs.
Do we really need to add another competition into the mix? I'll wait to see the full details before making a real judgement, but I'm certainly not convinced that we need to see even more competitions taking place.
Perhaps you support a club in a league that doesn't stand a chance in the Champions League and would like to see them given a go in a new format? Let me know your thoughts below.
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