UEFA considering ‘Final Four’ format from COVID bubble for UEFA Champions League
Having just endured one of the most
confusing periods in living memory, UEFA have fought off the ‘Dirty Dozen’. As
many of the biggest clubs in Europe melded together to form a European Super
League, UEFA was blindsided. They were caught trying to find a solution for all
of Europe whilst the top clubs wished for a solution for themselves. As such,
there was talk that the UEFA Champions League would no longer exist. However,
with much of Europe on their side, UEFA won out and instead things will stay
the same. Or will they?
A recent report headed in the New York
Times suggested that a ‘Final Four’ style program could be put together. The
idea is inspired by the COVID-19 resumption of the 2019-20 UCL season. This
seen teams meet in a bubble environment, playing out the last period of the
tournament in the one city. UEFA appears to believe this offers a unique and
exciting format, and might look to move from having just the Final in a neutral
venue to moving the ‘Final Four’ – the Semi-Finals – to a neutral venue.
With the vast success of the Lisbon
tournament last year, this shows us exactly what UEFA are thinking. Though that
included the quarter finalists, this would only include the last four
participants. It would see all teams move to one city and play out the final
rounds of the UCL in the space of one highly exciting week.
The audience figures were believed to be
huge for the Lisbon event, and it has left UEFA with some thinking to do. Could
this be the solution to add a fresh impetus to the tournament and keep the big
teams from leaving to make their own flagship event?
Will the ‘Final Four’ tournament happen?
According to the NYT, UEFA are set to
unveil the plans as a bid to try and win even more support. With fans bored of
the same teams making the final positions, it is hoped that the Lisbon event –
which seen teams like Lyon and RB Leipzig reach the latter stages – could be
replicated and thus create an even more exciting end to the football season.
This comes hot on the heels of talk that
UEFA also wants to do away with the controverail away goals rule. Brought in
years ago to encourage attacking play, today most teams do play aggressive
football and thus it can create unfair weighting that can ruin the end of the
season for many clubs.
There was talk that UEFA would look to make
the semi-finals a winner-takes-all event, the same as the Final itself.
Meanwhile, they would look to fill-out this showpiece week-long event of
football with legends games, concerts, and a Youth Final that would also show
us the two best young teams in Europe.
While plans could change, the NYT believes
that this could be closer to happening than some assume. With UEFA in need of
something to get people onside, this is a highly interesting idea that could be
a goer.