UEFA on Thursday denied that it is holding negotiations with A22 Sports Management, the promoter of the controversial European Super League, but admitted to having met the organisation after A22 claimed it was in talks with UEFA to design a new Champions League format.
“What A22 and the Super League clubs have done is propose an agreement to UEFA that mainly involves offering a free broadcasting platform and introducing only minor changes to the existing competition structure,” said an A22 spokesperson.
The latest proposal differs significantly from the semi-closed competition initially unveiled in 2021, which nearly caused a split in European football. Under the new concept, the 36 teams currently qualifying for the Champions League would be divided into two groups of 18, with the highest-ranked clubs progressing to a round of 32.
UEFA confirmed that its General Secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, had held several public meetings with A22 co-founder Anas Laghrari, but stressed that the discussions had “produced no official results.”
“There are no plans to change the UEFA Champions League format,” UEFA stated, reiterating that the new format introduced for the 2024–25 season remains in place.
The clarification follows remarks by Barcelona president Joan Laporta, a long-standing supporter of the Super League project, who recently expressed his wish to reach an “agreement with UEFA” to restore calm within European football.
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who chairs the rebranded European Football Clubs (EFC) organisation—formerly the European Club Association—welcomed Laporta’s conciliatory tone during the EFC meeting in Rome.
However, Al-Khelaifi dismissed suggestions that the renewed dialogue meant the revival of the Super League, asserting that the project “was already dead before.”
“We don’t need other competitions,” the Qatari executive added. “We already have the best competitions.”