The first world is the Champions League and the Europa League.
As a result of the changes just made, the main problem is that all league teams that are below 15th place in the UEFA coefficient (based on five years in Europe) are now excluded from the Europa League!
In the Champions League it is still possible to play for national champions with more than 15th place in the UEFA ranking. However, these are only 4 places in total.
The diagram “2021-24-uefa-club-competitions-scheme” shows how few teams are likely to play in these two competitions. The fact that only 50 teams will play in the Europa League (29 losers from CL + 21 teams cup winners and runners up) from which 32 will form a group stage confirms the strong relationship of these leagues. In this way, the Europa League has only become a lower league of the Champions League. A total of 102 teams will play in both leagues from the qualifying phase to the group stage. 64 teams will play in both group stages, which is 64%!
The second world is the Conference League.
It will be played by teams from leagues classified below 15th to 55th place in the UEFA ranking. 176 teams will play in this league from qualification to the group stage. 32 teams will play in the group stage, which is approx. 18%!
It should be noted that the Conference League will be played by 18 Europa League losers out of the top 15 in the UEFA rankings. 10 teams losers directly in the group stage and 8 teams losers in the playoffs. Ultimately, there will be 14-22 places left in the group stage for the teams starting the Conference League!
14 to 22 places (8%-13%) for over 160 teams starting from the Conference League!
I am not saying that this division into two worlds is wrong. However, I would like to draw attention to the need to treat these two football worlds equally.
World of Champions League and Europa League.
The Champions League, as the top league, which is becoming particularly visible in the current situation, should be organized with special care. The teams appearing in it have their loyal fans and even admirers, also far beyond the borders of the countries they come from. Television broadcasts will be watched by fans from all over the football world, not only from Europe. The reform of the competition, introduced from 2024, aimed at increasing the number of matches played, especially by the best football teams, should take these facts into account.
Therefore, I believe that playing the playoffs in the form proposed from 2024, in which the top 8 teams are not playing, is unacceptable. Especially right here in the reformed Champions League.
1. It is contrary to the assumed increase in the number of matches played by the best ones. There will be more matches, and in this solution, the eight best teams are taken away from 2 matches! That means losses on unsold TV broadcasts and tickets, and disappointment for fans around the world.
2. Using the playoffs as a mobilizing measure is a miss, as it will not apply to all teams anyway. It is much more effective to use positive mobilization instead of negative mobilization. Teams must be anxious to achieve the goal, the highest possible goal.
3. Playing much more matches must have a purpose. In practice, it serves to select the champion.
4. The issue of the super league needs to be resolved and the Champions League should be turned into a competition to replace it.
All this goals can be easily achieved with a single decision. It is the creation of two consecutive competitions from the Champions League: the league and the cup. In each of these competitions, a champion will be selected. Only this and so much.
I described the details in the topic: "New look to format of the Champions League from 2024".
For the top eight teams that weren't supposed to play, interesting promotion games are offered instead. Including matches for the highest goal for four best teams, i.e. the championship. In addition, we also motivate teams from further positions in the league table to play. Their goal is to advance to the play-offs. Plus a new format championship that should eventually bring the idea of super league to an end.
Everything under the auspices of UEFA.
World of Conference League and …
At the other extreme is the Conference League. The huge number of teams playing in it prompts to ask a question. Why can't there be a subleague for the Conference League like the Europa League for the Champions League? Why can't the Conference League also have a lower league for teams that lack a place in the Conference League?
Everything should be done to ensure that as many teams as possible play in the group stage. Let the weaker teams also have the opportunity to play not only in August. The solution is to add a lower tier for the Conference League.
The Conference Lower League I propose gives this possibility. Even the comparison between the CLL and EL looks interesting. Exactly 50 teams could play in both. Creating a Conference Lower League would enable approximately 38% of the teams to play in both group stages. This is still less compared to the Champions League and the Europa League.
The rise of the Conference Lower League guarantees that every league champion who reaches the second qualifying stage of the Champions League (Q2) will play in the group stage, at least the CLL.
Any team that wins three consecutive qualifying rounds (reach the playoffs) in the Conference League will be guaranteed play in the group stage. Also, at least in CLL. It is the same now in the Champions League, where the winner of three consecutive qualifying rounds (reaching the playoffs) is guaranteed to play at least in the Europa League group stage.
Currently:
- the loser in the Champions League play-offs plays in the Europa League group stage.
- the loser in the Europa League play-offs plays in the Conference League group stage.
- the loser in the Conference League play-offs is eliminated from the competition.
Given the huge number of teams playing in the Conference League, this example best illustrates the worse treatment of teams playing for the ECL. This also best justifies the need to establish the next tier of game, allowing the Conference League play-offs losers to continue playing the group stage at a lower tier.
Looking at the play pattern in the above mentioned game rule, it is L shaped. The vertical part is the league qualification and the horizontal part is the play-off drop-off principle. Currently, we have two such letters L. In order for the competition to have the same rules of the game in all three leagues, there must be three such letters L.
So in UEFA cup competitions the "LLL rule" should apply. Currently, the "LLI rule" applies.
Lucky League Losers ____________________ League Losers Inequality
The name Conference Lower League is not accidental. It is not about creating a new, separate being.
It is supposed to be part of the already existing Conference League. So there will still be three leagues. It's just that there will be separate lower tier games in the Conference League.
There will be no seeded teams in Conference Lower League, but only the Conference League losers. So Conference Lower League will only be a sub-league for the Conference League.
I described the details in the topic: "Conference League - Much needed and overloaded".
It could be 36 or 35 teams in the group stage.
In the case of 36 teams, it can be one league group, as from 2024.
In the case of 35 teams, it can be 7 groups of 5 teams. The selection of group of 16 can then be made in a number of ways.
CLL games as the lowest level of games may have a completely different course. They can be shorter than the other games and end after the group stage without having played the knockout stage.
In such a situation, using a group of 36 teams is the best solution.
For example, after 6 matches have been played, the single-game semi-finals and the final could be played between the top 4 teams. In such a situation, after 8 rounds of matches, the games would be over.
Both worlds of football should be treated equally fairly. If we create a world with two group stages for teams from the top 15 leagues in the ranking, then for teams from 16 to 55 places there should also be two such group stages. UEFA stage group matches must reach as many teams as possible. After all, this is where football talents are born in lesser-known teams. Let us give them a chance to appear in the full form of games.
The more elite UEFA games become, the more attention should be paid to those other teams for which the world of the Champions League and Europa League is closed. Teams cannot be excluded but must have a fair alternative.
To be fair, both game worlds must have two levels of the group stage.