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As one of the UEFA officials announced on Thursday, preparations are being made to change not only the structure of the UEFA Cup, but also the structure of the UEFA Champions League, and the issue of allocating spots to national cup winners is being considered.
One of the proposals that will be discussed in June is that national cup winners from European countries could participate in a revamped qualifying stage where the participants of the group stage would be determined.
It will also be considered whether to automatically allocate a spot to one of the top-performing clubs in the league to cup winners, but it is believed that such a change would be too drastic. Currently, national cup winners receive spots in the UEFA Cup tournament.
"We will consider the possibility of such changes. We want to revive the national cup tournaments, which have lost their importance in recent years," said William Gaillard, advisor to UEFA President Michel Platini. "However, only the cup winner would receive a spot in the Champions League. If a team in the national championship secures a place that guarantees a spot in the Champions League and also wins the cup, the spot would go to the team that finished lower in the league, not to the cup finalists."
In recent years, national cup tournaments have significantly weakened because clubs focus all their attention on competing for spots in the more prestigious and financially rewarding UEFA Champions League. Some clubs constantly field weaker teams in cup tournaments to protect their key players.
M. Platini recently proposed to reform the tournaments organized by UEFA. One of his proposals is to reduce the number of clubs from England, Spain, and Italy in the Champions League. Currently, these three countries can have up to four teams in the main tournament. According to the proposal of the UEFA president elected in January, this number would be reduced to three, and the teams that finish fourth in the national championships would play among themselves at the end of the season to determine who would qualify for the Champions League. In M. Platini's opinion, this would provide more space for teams from smaller countries in the tournament.
Although the latter proposal did not receive much support, it is likely that the most powerful European clubs and national football associations will support the proposal to allocate spots in the Champions League to national cup winners.
