UEFA Europa League set for financial overhaul

Posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 12:03 pm and is filed under News.

UEFA are planning to take over the sale of UEFA Europa League broadcasting rights in an attempt to make the tournament more lucrative and help it compete with the UEFA Champions League.

At present the clubs competing in the Champions League share more than ten times the revenue shared by the clubs competing in the UEFA Europa League, creating a big imbalance in European football.

The difference between the two leagues has served to undermine the UEFA Europa League, with many clubs committing their resources to their domestic leagues instead of focusing on their UEFA Europa League campaigns.

“The Champions League is a monster,” William Gaillard, adviser to UEFA President Michel Platini, said earlier this week. “The Champions League created a problem so people started questioning the importance of the UEFA Europa League.”

The plans tabled by UEFA will centralise broadcasting revenues, allowing tournament organisers to double the UEFA Europa League prize money overnight.

“There’s got to be more money in it to make it more attractive to teams and also to the sponsors,” an Everton spokesperson said. “It’s been tarnished. It’s a branding issue and format issue and needs to be reworked.”