Uefa explores internationals shake-up with Nations League plan
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From ESPN…The plans, revealed in Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, remain vague but there is a “concrete proposal” to introduce the concept, which may see teams separated into divisions based on their seeding and then competing for promotion and relegation. The season would, theoretically, be played out over ten matchdays between August and June, and the winners of the top division would be crowned champions.
…“For 2020 it has been looked at whether it would be possible to combine traditional qualifiers with this league format, instead of friendlies, to increase interest. It is worth looking at but we were clear that it can’t have an impact on the qualifiers for the Euro tournaments. The qualifiers are No. 1 and have the highest priority.”
… Hallen told Dagbladet: “The success of the Champions League has already inspired the Europa League. This is also something they are trying to look at in connection with the Nations League — how this can sharpen the market. That’s what this is largely about.”
However, he stressed that the new competition — which may feature nine divisions in total — would feature all member nations. Some have argued that the likes of San Marino, Andorra and Liechtenstein would benefit more from regular meetings with teams closer to their own level, rather than suffering regular heavy defeats to the top sides.
The Guardian gives us a look at the 9 divisions that may happen under the Nations League. With promotion and relegation this would be definitely be something that would be interesting.
The winner of the first division would be Uefa’s Nations League champion and win a substantial prize, with the bottom team in each division being relegated in favour of the winner of the tier below.
How the groups might look
First division Spain, Germany, Holland, Italy, England, Portugal
Second division Russia, Greece, Croatia, Sweden, France, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Third division Ukraine, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic
Fourth division Republic of Ireland, Serbia, Norway, Slovakia, Turkey, Israel
Fifth division Slovenia, Austria, Romania, Montenegro, Poland, Finland
Sixth division Scotland, Armenia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus
Seventh division Wales, Northern Ireland, Albania, Iceland, Lithuania, Macedonia
Eighth division Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Kazakhstan
Ninth division Liechtenstein, Faroe Islands, Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar
Also, Gala: Euro clubs plan own league
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Galatasaray’s president says European clubs are in talks about launching a new continental competition that could replace UEFA’s Champions League.
Unal Aysal said he is hoping a 20-team continental super league can launch after 2018 when UEFA’s current agreement with the European Club Association expires.
Aysal says “it would be 20 big teams, with three to five teams changing every year. … It is a concept that is under discussion for a few years.”
Source: ESPN
Well, I think this is great news and really hope the idea is adopted. These so-called ‘friendlies’ are slowly strangling International Football, as are the ridiculous ‘Qualifying Groups’ arranged solely for the purpose of ensuring the cream on the elite footballing nations qualify for each Euro and World Cup. Qualifiers, friendlies… they are all a ludicrous waste of time!
It’s time International Football woke up and smelt the competition. The attendance figures alone for these games must cause a great deal of concern for the various governing bodies, never mind the fact that the lop-lopsidedness of so many internationals these days makes them more an object of ridicule than of interest. Not only are fixtures such as England versus, say, San Marino patently absurd they aren’t even of benefit to either side. I don’t care what sort of plucky statements about holding the score down to single digits the minnows spout after each game there is nothing remotely interesting or satisfying about watching yet another Goliath annihilate a David in sport – any sport.
So, I’m hardly a fence sitter on this one! Thanks for giving me a glimmer of hope that the 20 year decline in International Football may just be coming to an end.
What will it be called though, because there is a Nations Cup with Northern Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland?
Please look out for some posts on my very own “Nations League” section on fantasypremierleaguelad.wordpress.com