UEFA have confirmed details of a new tournament to launch in the next few years, but how is it different to the Champions League and Europa League?
UEFA have announced a new third European club competition to start in a few years – but what is it, is it the same as the European Super League, how will it affect the Champions League and which teams will qualify?
Goal takes a look at everything you need to know about the new tournament and more.
What is the third European club competition?
Plans for a new, third European club competition have been announced by UEFA to run from 2021-24.
Under the working title of "UEL2", the tournament will be seen as the third-tier of European football competition, following the Europa League and Champions League (which is the most elite).
The UEL2 will comprise of 32 teams with eight groups of four. They will then be whittled down to a round of 16, following a play-off fixture between the second-placed teams and those who finish third in the Europa League.
Quarter-finals and semi-finals will follow suit, before a 141st game - the final of the competition.
The creation of the new European club tournament was approved following a recent meeting in Dublin, with UEFA stating that its inception will make sure that at least 34 European countries will be represented in the group stages of the UEL2.
The winner of the UEL2 will then automatically qualify for the following season's Europa League campaign, starting from the group stage.
UEFA added that UEL2 fixtures will be played on Thursdays, the same day as Europa League matches, with an earlier kickoff of 3:30pm GMT.
The governing body is yet to confirm the criteria for earning a place in the UEL2, stating that they will leave such decisions to individual associations – be it through league placement or cup finishes (as well as elimination from the Europa League).
Why have UEFA announced a third European club competition?
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin stated that the introduction of a new third European competition at club level was to address "widespread demand" for a tournament that is more accommodating to teams.
“The new UEFA club competition makes UEFA's club competitions more inclusive than ever before," Ceferin said.
“There will be more matches for more clubs, with more associations represented in the group stages. This competition was borne out of ongoing dialogue with clubs through the European Club Association (ECA).
“There was a widespread demand by all clubs to increase their chances of participating more regularly in European competition. This has been achieved with a strategic approach and in accordance with Uefa’s objective of having both more quality and more inclusivity in our club competitions.”
ECA chairman Andrea Agnelli added: "I am delighted that the Uefa Executive Committee has agreed to the changes ECA member clubs have been calling for.
“We believe that this outcome ensures that the Uefa club competitions continue to develop in a manner which is fair and balanced, meeting the demands and requirements necessary to ensure that football remains the number one sport globally.
“I would like to add that this whole process is testimony to the strong collaborative efforts of both ECA and UEFA at all levels."
How will UEL2 impact the Europa League and Champions League?
The UEL2 will not impact the current makeup of the Europa League and the Champions League and will run alongside it.
Those who are eliminated from the group stage in the Europa League will drop down to the UEL2.
The UEL2 is not the same as the rumoured European Super League, which is a proposed tournament featuring only elite teams from Europe (such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Juventus) playing in their own private league – effectively ending their involvement in both their domestic leagues and Champions League.
maddyfootballer
2
finally some hope for Manchester United fans
jsnmanu
2
Well,at least Man United can win this cup
osdel
0
Even Europa League is called "Game for losers", what's that for
thinking about the same thing.. I wonder if they'll even get the needed sponsorship because the patronage will be terribly low
Vikram95
1
in a way it is good bcoz it will give a chance to teams from lesser countries to earn more revenue and make themselves better as a club .But essentially it is a plan by UEFA to earn more revenue
YashrajNagarwal
1
nice article mate.. could you reply with a link for this article.. i would love to see the source..
the source was from allfootball app and sportskeeda website. link https://m.sportskeeda.com/football/the-asian-version-of-uefa-s-nations-league-and-what-it-means-for-india
Dinko
0
Uefa would instead increase the number of clubs per country to play in champions league.
that will make UCl complicated but I wanted some more teams in cl out of top 5 leagues it should be made 48 or 64 teams.
BernardIgnatius
0
ready this article new uefa nations league asian versions The inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League has earned widespread praise from players, managers, and journalists from across the continent. Russian sports publication Sovetskiy Sport hailed the new competition as the "greatest footballing invention of the century”.  The competition has been six years in the making. The new format was introduced by Uefa to add a more competitive edge to otherwise meaningless friendly matches and give every nation a chance to deal with comparable opponents. UEFA has split 55 European nations into four divisions based on their FIFA ranking, which is then split into three or four-team groups. Between each division, the top side in each group will be promoted to the division above, and the bottom side in each group will be relegated to the division below. A champion will emerge from a final four after a mini-tournament in June. Another key feature of the league is that it incentivizes Europe’s smallest teams by giving them a back-door entry into the European Championship through the Nations League. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is sure to be watching, since AFC secretary-general Datuk Windsor is looking to start the Asian version of UEFA’s Nations League beginning 2021. Speaking to NewStraightsTimes, Windsor said, “The idea (Asian Nations League) is really good but we need to revise all AFC competitions in the near future to ensure it is in line with the Asian body’s vision and mission. “The probability of AFC coming up with such a competition is possible but it needs thorough assessment first before it can be implemented,” For Asia, the UEFA Nations League will clearly have an impact, as UEFA Nations won’t be available for ‘friendly’ matches played on FIFA match dates - particularly those windows in the second half of every calendar year. As a result, leading AFC nations ( Japan, South Korea, Iran, Australia, and Saudi Arabia) will now have to look at South America and Africa for friendly matches. Additionally, it could harm their ranking points when seeding is arranged for the World Cup. What does it mean for India? A look at India’s FIFA calendar would reveal that senior football team played only two friendlies out of a possible six in the last three FIFA international windows. India is among the bottom three teams out of the 24 that are going to be at the Asian Cup that has played the least number of friendlies. AIFF (All India Football Federation) which usually fails to arrange meaningful friendlies for the national team would greatly benefit from the Nations League as it will have a clear schedule of matches of competitive nature. It will no longer have to scramble to organize barely watched friendlies against minnows of South Asia.
nice article mate.. could you reply with a link for this article.. i would love to see the source..
BernardIgnatius
0
this guy is so dumb
yeah man i am dumb... people are dumb and people make mistakes... i did realise my mistake... i am dumb to write the comment and posting it without re reading it.. i meant to say something else.. but this app doesn't have a delete comments feature so couldn't correct my mistake so sorry for being dumb... Sir.. next time ignore such dumb comments like mine and don't waste your valuable time on calling them dumb... just imagine they are dumb and nod off.. peace
BernardIgnatius
0
ok no offence but would it include like developing country clubs from like isl or i leagues in india.. cause that'll be lit for indian football and i'll gladly follow that.
yeah i realised my mistake man.. and this app doesn't have a delete feature so i couldn't correct my sentence.. and yeah i know the meaning of uefa and i also know that india comes under the supervision of afc.. i just meant to say could uefa help afc to do something like that.. now.. before calling someone loser(saw the spelling there?) you need to brush up on your english.. so called sentence formation.. next time please write something taking grammar into consideration.
BernardIgnatius
0
ok no offence but would it include like developing country clubs from like isl or i leagues in india.. cause that'll be lit for indian football and i'll gladly follow that.
yeah i realised..i meant to say would it help the afc to do something like that.. this app don't have a delete feature so i couldn't you know delete my mistake
YashrajNagarwal
2
ok no offence but would it include like developing country clubs from like isl or i leagues in india.. cause that'll be lit for indian football and i'll gladly follow that.
ready this article new uefa nations league asian versions The inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League has earned widespread praise from players, managers, and journalists from across the continent. Russian sports publication Sovetskiy Sport hailed the new competition as the "greatest footballing invention of the century”.  The competition has been six years in the making. The new format was introduced by Uefa to add a more competitive edge to otherwise meaningless friendly matches and give every nation a chance to deal with comparable opponents. UEFA has split 55 European nations into four divisions based on their FIFA ranking, which is then split into three or four-team groups. Between each division, the top side in each group will be promoted to the division above, and the bottom side in each group will be relegated to the division below. A champion will emerge from a final four after a mini-tournament in June. Another key feature of the league is that it incentivizes Europe’s smallest teams by giving them a back-door entry into the European Championship through the Nations League. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is sure to be watching, since AFC secretary-general Datuk Windsor is looking to start the Asian version of UEFA’s Nations League beginning 2021. Speaking to NewStraightsTimes, Windsor said, “The idea (Asian Nations League) is really good but we need to revise all AFC competitions in the near future to ensure it is in line with the Asian body’s vision and mission. “The probability of AFC coming up with such a competition is possible but it needs thorough assessment first before it can be implemented,” For Asia, the UEFA Nations League will clearly have an impact, as UEFA Nations won’t be available for ‘friendly’ matches played on FIFA match dates - particularly those windows in the second half of every calendar year. As a result, leading AFC nations ( Japan, South Korea, Iran, Australia, and Saudi Arabia) will now have to look at South America and Africa for friendly matches. Additionally, it could harm their ranking points when seeding is arranged for the World Cup. What does it mean for India? A look at India’s FIFA calendar would reveal that senior football team played only two friendlies out of a possible six in the last three FIFA international windows. India is among the bottom three teams out of the 24 that are going to be at the Asian Cup that has played the least number of friendlies. AIFF (All India Football Federation) which usually fails to arrange meaningful friendlies for the national team would greatly benefit from the Nations League as it will have a clear schedule of matches of competitive nature. It will no longer have to scramble to organize barely watched friendlies against minnows of South Asia.
Yizceiu
0
ok no offence but would it include like developing country clubs from like isl or i leagues in india.. cause that'll be lit for indian football and i'll gladly follow that.
India is not an European country
Harshal81
4
ok no offence but would it include like developing country clubs from like isl or i leagues in india.. cause that'll be lit for indian football and i'll gladly follow that.
this guy is so dumb
zasacemst
0
ok no offence but would it include like developing country clubs from like isl or i leagues in india.. cause that'll be lit for indian football and i'll gladly follow that.
looser 1st u need to know whats UEFA meaning than ask stupid questions.
Peyempt
3
Uefa would instead increase the number of clubs per country to play in champions league.
Tapdeils
1
UEFA CUP
ceazy905
1
ok no offence but would it include like developing country clubs from like isl or i leagues in india.. cause that'll be lit for indian football and i'll gladly follow that.
its only european teams
BernardIgnatius
2
ok no offence but would it include like developing country clubs from like isl or i leagues in india.. cause that'll be lit for indian football and i'll gladly follow that.
GOLD-1
1
Will abort later, 'cause it's such a bad idea
Alaweas
2
People don't watch this game, it's boring
Wendyritchier
1
i DON'T think the qualified teams will pay attention to this game, they will be focus on the national leagues i guess
LiveFootball
1
believe it or not, it would be a funny tournament
FCBlahm
2
Even Europa League is called "Game for losers", what's that for
Isaacsoner
0
whimsicality UEFA
wozenme
0
Who will like it?
Grammer
0
I don't think clubs will like it
wishing
0
Not a good idea