UEFA considers scrapping Europa League, says Platini

EUROPEAN football’s governing body are considering scrapping the Europa League in favour of extending the Champions League, UEFA president Michel Platini told daily Ouest-France.

Thursday, November 29, 2012
Uefa president Michel Platini. Net photo.

EUROPEAN football’s governing body are considering scrapping the Europa League in favour of extending the Champions League, UEFA president Michel Platini told daily Ouest-France.Asked about possible plans to extend the elite Champions League at the expense of the second-tier Europa League, Platini said: "There is an ongoing debate to determine what form the European competitions will have between 2015 and 2018. We’re discussing it, we will make a decision in 2014. Nothing is decided yet.”One of the options being looked at is the possibility of extending the final phase of the Champions League from 32 to 64 teams. Meanwhile, a decision on the use of goal-line technology will be made after next month’s Club World Cup in Japan, FIFA has revealed. Football’s world governing body said the two systems to be tested during the tournament - Hawk Eye and GoalRef - had been chosen from a list of 11 prototypes, reports Xinhua."We are going to use both technologies during the FIFA Club World Cup and then we will make a choice on which one to use for future tournaments,” the head of FIFA’s General Secretary Office, Christoph Schmidt, said."We will never obligate a league or stadium to have goal-line technology because it is very expensive.” Agencies