UCL: Two-legged semi-finals set to be scrapped
Uefa says that no decision has been made but the European Club Association (ECA) is understood to be preparing to throw its weight behind the idea
Momentum is building for two-legged Champions League semi-finals to be scrapped, with leading European clubs backing a plan to play the semis and the final over a single week in one city.
The Champions League “week of football” proposal would mean the end of two-legged semi-finals, which have been part of the format since the European Cup was launched in 1955, and would mean no opportunity for part two of the thrilling 4-3 match seen between Manchester City and Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Uefa says that no decision has been made but the European Club Association (ECA) is understood to be preparing to throw its weight behind the idea.
The European Leagues organisation would also need to agree to it.
Although some senior Uefa figures are reluctant to make such a revolutionary change, the organisation’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, has previously spoken favourably about the idea, with the extra peril of a straight knock-out match adding to the excitement.
Any change would come in from the 2024-25 season, when Uefa’s new Champions League format is launched. That would make the 2024 final at Wembley the last played under the existing system.
Under the “week of football” idea Uefa would develop a festival-type event similar to its Nations League finals, where two semi-finals and the final are played in the same country over five days.
The idea for the Champions League would be to hold it in a single city, but that would restrict the hosts to a half a dozen or so of Europe’s biggest cities, including London.
The cities would need to handle at least 100,000 fans coming from abroad, meaning they would need the hotels and travel infrastructure to handle that number. London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Istanbul, Rome and — if and when Russia returns to the fold — Moscow, would appear to be the only cities able to fit the bill.
