According to media reports, UEFA leaders have introduced another way of qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League.
After accusations that the competition has lost its competitive spirit in recent years, UEFA tried to find a solution.
Namely, in Vienna, the leaders of ECA (European Club Association) were presented with a model according to which two teams would be placed in the Champions League based on the historical performance calculated in a five-year period and classified on the UEFA coefficient table.
This will be used by teams that fail to qualify for the elite competition through the domestic championship.
In this way, in theory, as many as eight clubs from one country could play in the Champions League.
For example, if Chelsea finishes in the Premier League outside the top four, and has won the Champions League in the previous five years, UEFA would consider giving them a special invitation.
That would be done with another club.
Third place would be given to the next best team from the fifth strongest European league, which in this case are Portugal or France so that one of them would have one place more.
Although this is a possibility, in theory, the decision on the new system should be adopted by UEFA in May, and it would be applied from the 2024/2025 season when a change in the format of the competition was announced.
