"European club competitions must remain accessible to as many countries as possible" (J. Swart)

"With the new format of the Champions League for the 2018-2021 cycle, the top four countries (Premier League, LaLiga Santander, Bundesliga and Serie A TIM) are getting half of the spots in the group stage (16 out of 32). As a result, the number of national associations represented in the group stage will be reduced from 17 in 2017-18 to only 14 in 2018-19 or 25.4% of the 55 national federations reporting to UEFA. This is a major concern for small and medium-sized leagues. We want European competitions to remain accessible to clubs from as many different national associations as possible," said Jacco Swart, CEO of the Eredivisie, to News Tank Football after the first "Club Advisory Platform" organised by European Leagues, in Amsterdam (NED) on 23/04/2018.

The theme of this day of talks with clubs was the competitive balance of domestic and European competitions. In addition to Jacco Swart, Lars-Christer Olsson, president of the European Association of Professional Leagues; Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga; and Claudius Schäfer, CEO of the SFL, were also present. European Leagues…