BARCELONA (Reuters) - Uefa proposals to change part of the Champions League format would be "catastrophic" for soccer but Fifa's plans to overhaul the Club World Cup will be a boon for the sport, LaLiga president Javier Tebas told Reuters on Thursday (March 14).
Tebas lashed out at changes he said Europe's governing body is considering making to the Champions League, saying they would damage domestic competitions.
Accusing Uefa and the European Club Association (ECA) of plotting in secret, Tebas said the body wanted to play European games on weekends rather than in mid-week and expand the group stage to four groups of eight teams, rather than the current format of eight groups of four sides.
"Uefa and the ECA are negotiating behind closed doors so that the others don't know about the reforms which put national leagues in danger," said Tebas in an exclusive interview to Reuters.
"They are making reforms to the Champions League which are very dangerous for football. It's a model which is very damaging for national leagues and also for them, as they don't understand business."
Uefa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tebas earlier this year made headlines for attempting to switch a LaLiga game between Barcelona and Girona to Miami, a move which was opposed by Fifa.
While he remains committed to taking domestic league games abroad to widen LaLiga's global appeal, Tebas said his priority was stopping Uefa's proposed changes.
"Playing a game in Miami is much less important to LaLiga than the catastrophic reforms of Uefa and the ECA," he said.
"Fifa has been transparent in the last few weeks and changed its position so we support them (in their Club World Cup plans), meanwhile Uefa and ECA are doing the opposite and we are very worried about that and don't support them."
Fifa's ruling council meets on Friday in Miami to discuss and vote on president Gianni Infantino's plans for the revamped Club World Cup, which would take place in 2021, replacing the Confederations Cup.
The new-look competition would see 24 teams taking part instead of the current, annual tournament between six continental champions and an invited team, which has been dominated by the winners of the Champions League since 2013.
Tebas initially opposed Infantino's plan for an annual, expanded Club World Cup, calling it "irresponsible" last year. But he said the Spanish league and other major European leagues have radically shifted their position on it.
"In the last year Fifa has made some changes and we are on the path to a good Club World Cup which fits well into the calendar and can be supported by national leagues," Tebas said.
"It still needs to be polished but they are discussing distributing the money more evenly to smaller leagues and that's very important. Fifa have also been more transparent about it.
"They've also committed to playing it every four years which affects national leagues a lot less."
The proposed shake up to the tournament has been rejected by Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and the ECA chief Andrea Agnelli, who is also the chairman of Juventus.
The Fifa council in Miami will also explore the possibility of expanding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from 32 to 48 teams, which could see the number of host countries also increase.
The tournament will take place between November and December rather than the traditional slot of June and July due to Qatar's scorching summer temperatures, which is set to disrupt domestic leagues across Europe and around the world.
"We always opposed the change of the dates and now LaLiga is preparing ourselves for the break in the season," Tebas said.
"We also must decide what we do with all the players that are not going to the World Cup, of which there are many, not just in Spain but around the world and who didn't figure in decisions like this.
"We'll have to wait and see what Fifa decides but in principle, we at the Spanish league are not in favour of increasing the number of teams at the Qatar World Cup or any World Cup."
Soccer: Eriksen's late goal secures precious win for Tottenham. Martyn Herman. 4 Min Read (Reuters) - TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION 0 Soccer Football - Premier League
Eriksen's late goal secures precious win for Tottenham
Aston Villa's Jack Grealish was punched by a pitch-invading Birmingham fan in a shocking incident during Sunday's Championship clash, but the midfielder had the last laugh as he scored the
Villa's Grealish has last laugh after Birmingham fan attack
Eden Hazard intends to remain at Chelsea this year but offered no assurances about his future beyond that. The Belgian playmaker hinted he may leave Stamford Bridge after the World Cup, yet while international colleague Thibaut Courtois has completed a switch to Real Madrid, Hazard's mooted move to the Spanish capital has not happened.
'I think it's goodbye': Hazard ready to leave Chelsea after
LONDON (REUTERS) - Chelsea have completed the signing of Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain, who will join the club on loan from Juventus until the end of the season, the Premier League club said
Higuain completes Chelsea loan deal from Juventus | New
Football: Watford's Andre Gray strikes late winner to spoil Brendan Rodgers' Leicester debut against former side (REUTERS) - Watford's Andre Gray scored a stoppage-time winner as Leicester began life under new boss Brendan Rodgers in underwhelming fashion, suffering a 2-1 defeat at his former club in the English Premier League on Sunday (March 3).
Watford's Gray Strikes Late Winner to Spoil Rodgers
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino fears Harry Kane could miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury sustained against Manchester City. The striker had to be helped down the tunnel by Spurs staff after appearing to turn his left ankle following a challenge with Fabian Delph in the second half
Harry Kane Could Be Out For The Season, Says Pochettino
The Europa League's top scorer Olivier Giroud took his tally to 10 with his strike against Slavia Prague. Manager Maurizio Sarri says Chelsea's slow starts to the second half of matches are becoming a "big problem", after they were forced to withstand a Slavia Prague fightback before reaching the Europa League semi-finals.
Football: Chelsea survive Slavia scare to reach Europa League
Manchester City will play a pre-season match in Japan for the first time when they take on J League side Yokohama F. Marinos on July 27.
Man City to play pre-season match in Japan against Marinos
Trust in players crucial: Nazri, Football News & Top Stories
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is set to serve a second term after world football's governing body said on Wednesday he would be the only candidate for June's vote. The 48-year-old has been
Infantino re-elected FIFA president for four-year term | News
Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho embarrassingly slipped after presenting a symbolic face-off to a match in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on Monday. Videos of the 56-year
WATCH: Mourinho humiliated by fall at Russian hockey league
0 comments:
Post a Comment