Napoli president wants to abolish Champions League and Europa League
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has called for the Champions League and Europa League to be abolished and replaced with a new 80-team competition in order to revive "boring" European football.
Napoli qualified for the Champions League by sealing second place in Serie A for the second consecutive season on Monday, after a last-gasp 2-1 win over Cagliari.
But film producer De Laurentiis, who bankrolls Napoli, believes Uefa's two European club competitions are outdated.
He is proposing a new format that would see 80 teams compete in a single competition.
De Laurentiis told Italian daily Corriere della Sera: "The Champions League is now for a select few, while the Europa League has become a sort of consolation prize. It's all very outdated. We are often confronted with the same sparring partners."
De Laurentiis proposed a single tournament with "the top seven teams from the Italian, French, English, German and Spanish leagues and the first four of the Portuguese, Dutch, Belgian, Swedish and all the other leagues".
The teams would be divided into four groups of 20 teams, with a draw to decide the calendar and who plays at home.
The 69-year-old said he would call it "the European Cup" and games would be played on from Tuesdays to Thursdays in order not to clash with domestic league fixtures. - AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now