Premier League on collision course with Uefa over proposals to reshape European competition
The Premier League said its 20 clubs would 'vigorously' resist any plans to impose a new calendar.
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Your support makes all the difference.All 20 of the Premier League’s clubs have formally rejected proposals to reshape the format and qualifying criteria for European football, labelling it “inappropriate” for Uefa to create plans that would alter the structures, calendar and competitiveness of the domestic game.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said on being re-elected in February that he would work with the European Club Association (ECA), which groups 232 of the region’s biggest clubs, to “design the club competitions of the future”.
The ECA, in turn, said it wanted more teams playing more matches in continental competitions.
However, plans to reform and possibly expand European club competition ran into opposition on Friday as the continent’s leagues declared they were “united” in their determination to protect domestic football.
The Premier League, one of the European Leagues’ 35 members, said its 20 clubs would “vigorously” resist any plans to impose a new calendar.
In a statement released on Friday, the organisation said: “All 20 Premier League clubs today discussed their significant concerns regarding reported proposals for changing the format and qualification criteria for Uefa club competitions from season 2024/25.
“All clubs unanimously agreed it is inappropriate for European football bodies to create plans that would alter the structures, calendar and competitiveness of the domestic game and will work together to protect the Premier League.
“We have a fantastic combination of competitive football and committed fans that we will vigorously defend.
“The structures of domestic football are determined by leagues and their respective national associations.
“We will now work with The FA and other leagues to ensure that European football bodies understand the importance of this, and their obligation to maintain the health and sustainability of domestic league football.”
European Leagues, which says it represents 900-plus clubs through its affiliates, including “those who are not normally playing European football”, said domestic football should remain the priority.
“Our main objective is to safeguard the domestic competitions and protect the domestic competitions if needed,” its president Lars-Christer Olsson said.
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