La Liga chief leads Europe-wide backlash against Uefa plan for third club competition

Earlier this month Uefa revealed its plan for another tournament to run alongside the existing Champions League and Europa League formats, tentatively named Europa League 2 or UEL2

La Liga has spoken out against Uefa's plans (Getty)

La Liga is leading a Europe-wide backlash against Uefa’s new plans for a third continental club competition, warning that the proposal threatens “the foundation of European football”.

Earlier this month Uefa revealed its plan for another tournament to run alongside the existing Champions League and Europa League formats, tentatively named Europa League 2 or UEL2, which would begin in 2021 and consist of 32 teams primarily from lower-ranked leagues, claiming to meet “widespread demand”.

But the heads of domestic leagues in Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland and Poland have all backed the Spanish Liga in calling for more discussions to take place before embarking on the project, claiming that “critical issues” between the relationship between domestic and continental leagues are being ignored.

“While the European Leagues have accepted the introduction of a third club competition, Uefa cannot make these decisions in isolation from the leagues that they affect,” said Javier Tebas, president of La Liga.

“Europa League 2 will place greater demands on smaller clubs, who are the basis of healthy competition and the growth of European football, and risks creating a further divide within leagues of those who have lucrative European football and those who don’t.”

Tebas called for a full review of revenue distribution from Uefa’s club competitions to prevent “the over-allocation of funds towards Champions League participants and eliminating the historical coefficient model that unfairly prioritizes past achievements over current sporting results”.

“It’s imperative to review the way revenue is distributed in the whole UCC [Uefa Club Competitions] model, including of course the financial distribution of Champions League,” Tebas said.

“Through further dialogue, a more inclusive and democratic model of European competition can be created, that respects the economic stability and the competitive equilibrium of the national leagues. This is one of the greatest challenges faced today across our continent and if it is not tackled decisively, it could have disastrous consequences in the long term.”