Europa Winners To Earn Champions League Spot
The victors of the Europa League will be rewarded with a Champions League qualifying spot from 2015, in a bid to boost interest in Europe’s secondary club tournament, UEFA has revealed.
The Europa League generates far less income and media attention than the Champions League, with a Thursday schedule also having a detrimental effect on clubs with smaller squads.
Announced at the UEFA Congress this morning, the governing body has tried a number of initiatives to increase interest, with previous attempts including the change of name from Uefa Cup to its current title in 2009.
Currently, teams who finish third in their Champions League group drop into the competition.
According to BBC Sport, UEFA is also expected to a raise the maximum number of Champions League qualifiers per country from four to five, if the winners of the Europa League from 2015/16 do not finish in their domestic league’s qualifying places for the Champions League.
Should the winners of both European competitions come from the same country and not finish in their league’s qualifying places, both would be in the Champions League the following season. The move comes as UEFA bid to avoid a repeat of the scenario that saw Tottenham miss out on a Champions League place, despite finishing fourth in the Premier League, after Chelsea won the European competition.
Meanwhile, Berlin’s Olympic Stadium has been revealed as the venue for the Champions League final in 2015, with the Europa League decider to be played at Warsaw’s National Stadium, which also staged the opening game of Euro 2012.
