Europacupene

[Haugen]

Skjer det, kommer nok de store klubbene i europa til å pusse støvet av planene om en egen liga.
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The man with the cure

[2mas]

UEFA-styret skal nå i november avgjøre om cupvinnerne i nasjonene 1-16 skal spille en intern kvalik om fire CL-plasser. Sannsynligvis blir det nedstemt.

Derimot er det veldig sannsynlig at flere land får direkteplass inn i gruppespillet. Det foreløpige oppsettet (inkl. cupvinnere) legger opp til at nasjonene t.o.m. 13 får minst en direkteplass (mot 9 i dag). Dessuten skal de tre øverste få hele tre direkteplasser.

For å få til dette må alle andre seinest inn i 2. kvalikrunde. Med andre ord blir det minst to runder (2. og 3.) på alle klubber som må gjennom kvalik.

For øvrig:

The exact details of a deal involving UEFA, the clubs, leagues and associations have yet to be hammered out, but it is envisaged that at least 12 more places will be made available to lesser nations with around half of those being champions.

A number of extra automatic places in the lucrative group stage is also likely to be set aside for what UEFA describes as "medium size" nations, while agreement to grant automatic entry to a third team from England, Spain and Italy could also be met.

In an unusual twist, the leagues and clubs look set to agree to Italy, where the cup competition is run by the league and not the federation, awarding a Champions League place to its cup winners which it wants to do.

Read more: Champions League cup winners plan set to be shelved

[2mas]

In an effort to open up the Champions League to more league winners from smaller nations, Platini announced in August plans for the champions in Europe's leading 12 countries to be joined by six from the 40 smaller leagues in the lucrative group phase.

From the 2009-10 season, the domestic cup winners from the top 16 countries, including England's FA Cup holders, would also enter a qualifying competition with four group places up for grabs. This has provoked the most bitter opposition from the clubs, who argue that it devalues the competition.

(...)

Sensing the level of resistance, Platini is now considering postponing the cup-winners idea for at least two years. However, Uefa spokesman William Gaillard insisted that the main proposal to open the Champions League up to six of the continent's smaller nations was non-negotiable.

"Our president gave time to the different members of the football family to give their feedback on his reform plans," Gaillard said yesterday.

"The only thing he said he would not compromise on was the presence of champions from the mid-sized countries."

Read more: Clubs threaten Michel Pl...er reforms

A final decision is due to be made by the Uefa executive at a meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland, on Nov 30. But frantic negotiations are already under way between the leading clubs and leagues in Europe to persuade Platini to drop his controversial reforms.

Read more: Arsenal plot European boycott