Sports

UEFA Plans New Four-team Super Cup Format

The European football governing body (UEFA) is reportedly considering ways to boost its revenue and has said a four-team tournament with a structure similar to the current Spanish Super Cup would be held.

The Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League, and Major League Soccer champions would be the clubs invited for the new competition.

UEFA is also looking at the possibilities of getting new audiences, therefore, it would be a summer tournament, and it is possible that the matches would be played outside of Europe.

Additional discussions are anticipated to occur at the General Assembly of the European Club Association in Istanbul, Turkiye today and tomorrow.

The winners of the Champions League and the UEFA Cup, which was renamed the Europa League in 2009, compete in the UEFA Super Cup.

UEFA and FIFA including most major football leagues across Europe criticised the idea of a Super League between 14 too clubs last year, 2021.

That however did not see the light of day as majority of the clubs pulled out leaving Real Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona, as the ones still hoping it will come to fruition.

In the current title situations, it means Real Madrid (Champions League ), Eintracht Frankfurt (Europa League), AS Roma (Conference League) and the MLS All Stars team will participate in the reformed competition.

There were calls by current Chelsea owner Todd Boehly to have an All-stars game between the northern and southern teams in the English Premier League.

Many new innovations have been mooted in the game albeit the players who are the ones most affected by such decisions have feverishly complained about the impactamy matches will have on them physically and mentally.

The summer break is also somewhat limited especially as international tournaments are also held after the conclusion of league commitments in May.

The 2022-23 season across Europe will end in June 2023.

Izuchukwu Okosi

Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc. In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio. He worked there for 13 years until October 2017. Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch. He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations. Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line. Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.