UEFA’s Executive Committee has responded to the threat of a breakaway European Super League (ESL) by unanimously voting to sanction the new-look 36-team Champions League, sources have told ESPN.
In a vote in Montreux, Switzerland, on Monday, the Executive Committee passed a resolution to expand the Champions League from its present format of 32 teams, with the re-shaped tournament due to commence at the start of the 2024-25 season.
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The change will see each club play 10 group games, rather than six, before advancing to a 16-team knock-out system in the second half of the season.
Sources have told ESPN that Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was among those that voted, with the French champions not involved in the ESL plan.
UEFA had been pushed into making the Champions League more lucrative for participating clubs, but with 12 of Europe’s leading teams announcing on Sunday plans to form the ESL, it is unclear whether the new tournament will involve those sides attempting to form their own separate competition.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is due to speak publicly on the Champions League changes and threat of a breakaway at 14:30 CET Monday.
