Platini wants cup holders to get Champions League spot

UEFA president Michel Platini still wants to shake up the Champions League design, saying he would like the domestic cup winners in Europe to have a spot in the Champions League.

Platini's new proposal is expected to be endorsed during the meeting of UEFA on Thursday. Under the proposal, 16 cup winners will enter a separate qualifying competition to run parallel to the regular qualifiers for the group stage.

Platini wanted to reduce the maximum number of Champions League spots from four to three. When the idea was opposed by the most powerful leagues and clubs in Europe, he has now introduced the domestic cup option as a compromise. Only the three leading nations - England, Spain, and Italy will retain four spots, where only three are based on league position.

Only the winners of the domestic cup, and not the runner up, would qualify, and if the cup winner had already qualified through their league position the available spot would be granted to the next-placed club in the league.

Although Platini's plan is likely to get the support of the English FA and Italian Federation, there are already those who oppose the plan.

Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager told The Observer newspaper: "I don't agree with it. The Champions League is for what you do in the league. You can win the FA Cup ... playing nobody up until the final. Or the semi-final at least. Does that warrant entry into the Champions League ?"

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.