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UEFA Planning Summer 'Champions League' To Compete With FIFA World Club Cup

UEFA Planning Summer 'Champions League' To Compete With FIFA World Club Cup

The world governing body have plans for a 24 team summer competition but could have to compete with a European competition.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

UEFA and FIFA look set to butt heads over summer competitions with UEFA in 'advanced talks' to back a pre season Champions League tournament.

Currently some of Europe's elite teams take part in the International Champions Cup in pre season with American promoters Relevent Sports inviting the teams they want to compete.

According to Daily Mail, the competition could soon decide its participants based on qualification via league position, making it a mini summer Champions League that would be backed by UEFA.

The European governing body would endorse the competition, and have their branding attached to it, but Relevent would still run it.

The report claims the agreement would be for eight years and see the tournament first held in the US but could be held in Asia in subsequent years, groups of three which would lead to knockout rounds, a 2021 start date and potential future involvement of South American teams.

Any development which includes UEFA would put the European governing body in direct competition with FIFA and their World Club Cup.

Christian Eriksen, then with Spurs, playing against his current club Inter in last summer's International Champions Cup. Image: PA Images
Christian Eriksen, then with Spurs, playing against his current club Inter in last summer's International Champions Cup. Image: PA Images

The world governing body are set to introduce an extended 24 team tournament in the summer of 2021, with games played in Shanghai over June and July.

That tournament would only take place every four years and include 12 teams from Europe, with two coming from England, whilst UEFA's would be every summer as the current 'friendly' competition is now.

A big advantage that the European competition would have is the extra games and money for teams might stop the need for more games in the Champions League.

Liverpool are current FIFA World Club Cup holders. Image: PA Images
Liverpool are current FIFA World Club Cup holders. Image: PA Images

Clubs are after a bigger piece of pie from UEFA's elite club competition, as teams outside of England try to compete with the Premier League money, and it has been suggested that the tournament could be extended.

That would make the fixture schedule even more packed and put the future of the League Cup under scrutiny in England.

UEFA and FIFA going head-to-head because of the animosity between the two presidents Aleksander Ceferin and Gianni Infantino as well as the latter's desire to compete with the former's ability to make money through the Champions League.

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Topics: Football News, FIFA, World Football, Nations League, Serie A, International Champions Cup, Ligue 1, UEFA, Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga

Ryan is a writer for SPORTbible. He covers all sport from football, formula one, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, mma and wrestling. He obviously hates YOUR football team and has no interest in synchronised swimming.

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@Sidler28