Sports reported that the European Super League and UEFA secretly negotiated for eight months and proposed a new UEFA Champions League plan.
It is reported that UEFA, A22 (companies representing the Premier League) and club representatives such as Barcelona and Real Madrid have conducted secret negotiations over the past eight months in an attempt to reach an agreement that satisfies all parties. These negotiations are designed to improve the existing Champions League to meet the needs of all participants and avoid the implementation of a disruptive project.
It was revealed that the Super League has submitted a final peace proposal to UEFA, which contains two key points: a free global television broadcasting platform, and a new format that mimics the existing UEFA Champions League system but is more ornamental.
Since A22 proposed to recognize an alternative event in December 2024, the organization, club and UEFA have met seven times, with some meetings even held in the UEFA office with the aim of creating an agreement to end the dispute starting in 2021.
As Barcelona President Laporta confirmed in an interview with Le Monte Sport, the negotiations mainly revolve around three areas: governance structure, broadcasting platform and competition format.
For the game format, A22 recommends improving the existing model, where there are some unbalanced games. In the new proposal, the Super League recommends that the 36 participating teams be divided into two groups and reunited in the knockout stage. The qualifying system remains unchanged and qualifies through national leagues, but the 36 teams that advance will be divided into two groups later. The main change is that the top 18 teams will compete in the first phase of eight games (such as Barcelona vs. Paris Saint-Germain this week), while the 19th to 36th teams will play another eight relatively balanced games, which will be decided by draws.
According to this new competition system, after the first phase, the top 8 teams will directly enter the top 16, and the remaining 16 teams will participate in the play-offs. The 9th team will face another team with the lowest score. In this way, the pairing will be based on the points after 8 games in the first phase. With this change, it is designed to improve the quality of the first stage game while giving lower-ranked teams a chance to win the championship.
In addition, the event, known as the "Super Champions League", will not change its name and will continue to be broadcasted using the UNIFY platform proposed by the Super League, which is working to enhance the audience experience and reduce costs. The platform has been favored because it provides a modern and higher income solution. The free version will include geotargeted ads, while the paid premium version will not include ads.
The relationship between UEFA and the Super League has improved significantly, and although the agreement has not been finalized, the proposal made by the Super League to UEFA marks an important turning point. Now it all depends on how the UEFA headquarters in Nyon responds.
It is expected that this new competition system will be implemented in 2027, and a new round of TV broadcast rights sales cycle will be started.