Platini revives idea of FA Cup winners in Champions League

Michel Platini, the Uefa president, has relaunched the prospect of FA Cup winners qualifying for the Champions League. Platini first launched a proposal for domestic cup winners to take a qualifying slot two years ago but was forced to withdraw it after opposition from the European leagues.

Now the Uefa president has returned to the issue and said: "It's difficult to change the tournament because it's a great success. The access list is something we can think about for the future and I am always feeling that the winners of the cup perhaps have to participate in this competition. They are champions as they have won a trophy and this is the Champions League."

Platini's original proposal from 2008 would see the domestic cup winners take the lowest qualifying spot from a league, in England's case the place in the final qualifying round that goes to the side that finished fourth in the Premier League. He dropped the proposal, however, in return for changes to the competition which allowed more places in the group phase for national league champions from smaller nations.