Europa League winners to get CL spot

[Ted Hughes]

In the unlikely scenario, if for instance....

Chelsea finished 5th and won the CL
Spurs finished 6th and won the Europa

Whoever finishes 3rd will miss out on the Champions League.

I'm comfortable with that. Why should third place bring any kind of glory? Football is about winning things, and winning things should be rewarded. It saddens me that 4th has become more glamorous than any pot other than the PL and CL. What fucking nonsense that is.

Erm..

From 2015, the Europa League winners as well as the European champions will qualify automatically for the following season's Champions League, UEFA sources have confirmed to Press Association Sport.

But they will no longer take a place from the Premier League if they finish outside of the top four - as happened controversially with Tottenham last season when Chelsea won the Champions League but finished sixth.

The principle was agreed by UEFA's executive committee today and will be formally announced at the European governing body's Congress in London tomorrow.

[Alioune DVToure]

Erm..

From 2015, the Europa League winners as well as the European champions will qualify automatically for the following season's Champions League, UEFA sources have confirmed to Press Association Sport.

But they will no longer take a place from the Premier League if they finish outside of the top four - as happened controversially with Tottenham last season when Chelsea won the Champions League but finished sixth.

The principle was agreed by UEFA's executive committee today and will be formally announced at the European governing body's Congress in London tomorrow.

What's the point, then? You can only qualify via EL if you've already made it via the league?

[roblues]

Erm..

From 2015, the Europa League winners as well as the European champions will qualify automatically for the following season's Champions League, UEFA sources have confirmed to Press Association Sport.

But they will no longer take a place from the Premier League if they finish outside of the top four - as happened controversially with Tottenham last season when Chelsea won the Champions League but finished sixth.

The principle was agreed by UEFA's executive committee today and will be formally announced at the European governing body's Congress in London tomorrow.

What's the point, then? You can only qualify via EL if you've already made it via the league?

I definitely remember reading that 5 teams would be allowed into the CL should one team outside the top four win a European competition - I assume this extends to 6 in the very unlikely circumstances outlined in an earlier post

[Twobob]

Have no problem with the winner of the Europa league, or what ever it will be called next year, getting a place in the CL for the following season.

However it has been bollox and always will be since they change the rules to accomodate Liverpool being shite in the league and then Chelsea that teams who win the competition get back in it again next season! It makes a farce of the domestic league!

If Mossley AFC won the FA Cup next season they would still have to go through the qualifiers the following season - they dont get an automatic buy in.

[Ted Hughes]

Erm..

From 2015, the Europa League winners as well as the European champions will qualify automatically for the following season's Champions League, UEFA sources have confirmed to Press Association Sport.

But they will no longer take a place from the Premier League if they finish outside of the top four - as happened controversially with Tottenham last season when Chelsea won the Champions League but finished sixth.

The principle was agreed by UEFA's executive committee today and will be formally announced at the European governing body's Congress in London tomorrow.

What's the point, then? You can only qualify via EL if you've already made it via the league?

Not sure what you mean, but it appears, as Roblues suggests, that if say Liverpool & Arsenal won the Europa & the Chps Lg, but finished outside the top 4, we would get 6 teams in the Chps Lg the following season, top 4 plus the two cup winners, but if both won those trophies & also finished top 4, we would only get the top 4 places in the Ch Lg.

It's basicall designed to give Liverpool etc a better chance of the Chps Lg, as they are unlikely to finish top 4, & if they do, Arse or rags could miss out, so they would get an extra chance.

Keeping the cartel happy.

[Socrates]

The old European Cup had the system where the winners were always allowed to defend the trophy, the system was simple as champion country got a 2nd team. It was a mistake to change it - champions of Europe should always outrank a league placing, at least they are champions of something!! Extending qualification to Europa winners is also healthy but it should mean an extra place for that country whatever - maybe from a lower base though as 3 automatic places should be the absolute maximum in my view.

[freshie]

The champions league should just be for the champions of each league. Otherwise the term 'Champions' is a misnomer. Proven by the fact that Arsenal are in it every season despite being shit

[LookMumImOnMCF.net]

This systematic dilution of the Champions League will ultimately be it's downfall. This new ruling means that a quarter of the Premier League could realistically regularly be in the competition. A quarter!

UEFA need to realise that things are what they are for a reason. The Europa League is an inferior competition no matter how many times you change its name, no matter how many teams from the Champions League drop into it, no matter what prize you give at the end of it. It is inferior because it was actually devised to be a second-rate Champions League. One competition will always naturally hold prestige over the other. Stop fucking around.