The details of the new look UEFA Cup to be introduced for the 2009/2010 European football season were revealed at a UEFA meeting last week.

The first thing to go will be the name of the existing competition, with the ‘UEFA Cup’ brand to be replaced by the ‘UEFA Europa League’. Other changes will include the commissioning of an official match ball, a new competition logo and the expansion of the group stage to include 48 teams competing in 12 groups.

Broadcasting rights for the tournament will be centralised, allowing UEFA to pour more money into the coffers of the clubs reaching the final stages of the tournament.

“These changes will improve this historic competition which is very important for UEFA and for European football, as it gives more fans, players and clubs the thrill of European club football”, UEFA president Michel Platini said in a statement. “I am convinced the new format will give the UEFA Europa League a successful new impetus.”

Critics claim that UEFA have failed to address one of the main issues that fans have with the UEFA Cup – that it absorbs losing teams from the Champions League, thereby giving the impression that teh UEFA Cup is a second rate tournament.