UEFA seeks input on Super League
Posted: Thursday July 23, 1998 03:58 PM
NYON, Switzerland (AP) -- European soccer's governing body said Thursday it has asked its member associations and national leagues to officially state their positions on a breakaway Super League.
In a statement, UEFA stressed "its readiness and capacity to further develop the existing European club competitions."
On Sunday, the owners of several of Europe's top soccer clubs reportedly met in secret with a view to forming their own breakaway Super League in the 2000-2001 season.
According to reports in Germany and England, the main movers behind the idea were powerhouses AC and Inter Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Paris St. Germain, Ajax Amsterdam, Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
The idea of a Super League, which would effectively undermine UEFA's own competitions, has been around for two decades.
UEFA's executive committee "expressed its surprise that this matter has remained unnoticed by the national associations and leagues concerned."
UEFA said it is willing to develop its competitions "in accordance with the wishes and needs of all components within the structure of European football" to satisfy both the grassroots and the elite.
Aware of what damage it would do to the Champions Cup, UEFA has already taken steps to try and stop a Super League taking shape.
Four seasons ago it changed the format to bring in a group structure at the midpoint of the competition and changed the name of the tournament to Champions League.
To make it more attractive to the big clubs, UEFA then altered the rules so that runners up in the high profile leagues also would take part. That opened up the prospect of the Champions Cup being won by a team that wasn't a champion.
The latest move is to change the league format from six groups of four to four groups of six to ensure even more matches and make it even more of a league structure.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
