The crucial vote on controversial reforms to the Champions League has been postponed at the last minute, after Uefa claimed it needed more time to “finalise” discussions.
The governing body will no longer decide on a new format for Europe’s premier club competition at a meeting of their executive committee on Wednesday, with any decision now postponed until at least the middle of April.
It is understood that disagreements remain on the future plans, which are set to come into effect from 2024, in particular between Uefa and the powerful grouping of the continent’s biggest clubs, the European Club Association.
A meeting of Uefa’s club competitions committee on Tuesday had been expected to ratify changes to the Champions League ahead of a rubber-stamp vote. They included a switch to a single group stage of 36 teams, four more midweek match days during the season and, most controversially, the allocation of two places based on historical performance in Europe rather than domestic league position.
That meeting did not end in a resolution, however, leading to Uefa’s decision to defer a vote on the “Horizon 24” plans until another meeting on 19 April. Wednesday’s ExCo meeting will now discuss other topics such as proposals over the return of fans to stadiums.
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“Following various media enquiries over the last few days, Uefa can confirm that a meeting of the executive committee will take place tomorrow, Wednesday 31 March, and that the future of club competitions post-2024 will be one of the topics discussed,” Uefa said in a statement. “However, any official decision in this respect will only be made at the next Uefa executive committee meeting on 19 April, in order to finalise ongoing discussions.”
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