UEFA's Plans To RUIN The Champions League

The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious cup competition in European football, with winners including the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich.
Since replacing the European Cup at the start of the 1990s, the Champions League has always had a group stage where each group contains four teams, but from 2024-25, that is all going to change, along with a raft of other reforms.
So in this video, HITC Sevens takes a look at those reforms, what they might mean for the Champions League, the context in which they are being implemented, and why watered down European Super League style reforms are likely to continue.

[@sgb4798]

Alfie is not the hero we deserve, but the one we need

[@jordan_roadhouse4798]

He's the Robin in the hero world.

[@CattaneoL]

wow kzbin.info/www/bejne/rp2tnGWqeN6pgbc

[@LucasOliveira-tt2ll]

I miss the days when Celtic used to defeat Barcelona despite having only 11% of ball possession

[@iMertin90]

Aye imagine Celtic and rangers back in the champ league?

[@netweed09]

What,, once about 15 years ago?? Or *gasppp * Twice even??! 🤣

[@ObviouslyKieran]

@@iMertin90 Only to get annihilated 7-0 and 6-1?

[@Liverpool-Thedirtyredteam]

@@ObviouslyKieran That doesn't always happen though. Brentford slaughtered Chelsea at the weekend, West Brom did it last year, Bradford did it a few years ago, Forest have beaten Arsenal twice in the last couple years, Sheriff beat Real Madrid, Crystal Palace have beaten Man City and Man Utd TWICE in the last few years, Burnley beat Man Utd and Liverpool in recent years, We beat City last season. The point is football is beautiful for these moments and they happen more often then you think a few times a season at least. Don't try and justify a super league there's no justification!

[@ObviouslyKieran]

@@Liverpool-Thedirtyredteam You automatically assumed I was for *The Super League* which I'm not and completely missed my point about Celtic being cannon fodder in the UCL.

[@noahp3057]

The reformed Champions League is an absolute joke, and one of my biggest concerns is that already bloated superclubs will become even more bloated. You have a side like Man City that already has enough players for essentially 2 separate xi's with little drop off in quality, and now even more games will give those sides an excuse to buy up more players from smaller clubs. It's not just City, but they're the most obvious example. So with this new format you'll have bloated superclubs buying up the best players from smaller clubs (that already happens but it could get even worse), and because those superclubs can rotate without issue and keep everyone fresh, the domestic leagues that are already top heavy get that much worse. I really think we're not far off from a big club coming close to going 34-0-0 or 38-0-0 at some point. It's that bad. Football's randomness is eroding.

[@jonl8816]

We already have that now. The Prem has seen 100, 98, 97, and 95 points win or almost win in the past ten years. It's only a mere formality to go unbeaten

[@patrickbarrett3623]

I agree with most of what ya saying but not with prem league, its stronger than ever and going unbeaten is still almost impossible, and no teams gonna go 38/0/0

[@HelloThere-uh3ll]

Plus smaller squads will be fucked

[@patrickbarrett3623]

Facts? Predicted outcomes are not facts no matter what the stats say, are you old hypie 88? I'm 48 but you sound really old, really miserable just saying.......

[@patrickbarrett3623]

@@hypie88 I'll bet you that nobody goes 38/0/0 in the next 5yrs. Stop quoting what you've read and talk for yaself Ffs. Liverpool are literally level with city and don't have a massive squad like them and utd so there's ya fucking stat, the prem is more competitive than ever anyone can beat anyone, also LFC aren't super rich either ......

[@anant1462]

A huge point was missed here: Elite footballers already have too many games in a season and this will cause a huge increase.

[@Rob-cy8xc]

Too many games? 😂 they are paid 100k a week to kick a ball, believe me they are fine to play twice a week

[@Cam_Jong_Un]

@@Rob-cy8xc they will run themselves into the ground if they play too much

[@FrancoIsntReal]

@@Rob-cy8xc Imagine a premier league player in boxer day, 2-3 matches per week is insane

[@FrancoIsntReal]

Add in the fa cup/ carabao cup if the team is still in it.

[@Rob-cy8xc]

@@Cam_Jong_Un brick layers run themselves into the ground, scaffolders. Not footballers

[@shanetomiczek3542]

I REALLY dislike UEFA. They were really against the European super league, saying that those greedy club owners would kill football for everyone else and what do they do, they come up with awful plans to increase there own revenue. What a terrible example to set for everyone to follow. Feel really sorry for teams like Leicester and west ham who could finish 5th in the premier league and Manchester United who could finish 7th and still get into the champions league. Shameful!

[@jjryan1352]

They are slavers.

[@hudson7354]

Why should a team finishing 7 be in champions league ? Absolutely disgusting

[@patrickmccutcheon9361]

The idea of UEFA is to include more teams but based on merit. The super league would be a cartel with clubs self-selected but not on merit. The latter would allow in Tottenham and Arsenal but not some of tune teams that finish above them in the Premier league.

[@jjryan1352]

@@patrickmccutcheon9361 what is this ridiculous merit argument? UCL is just some people in an office with no overhead who are getting exceedingly rich off of the hard work and investments of football clubs. They take most of the money for doing nothing (basically just signage and branding) and threaten legal and financial attacks on clubs who even talk about being in or forming another international league. All reward and no risk. They are already a cartel!!!! They did absolutely nothing to help the clubs hit by the pandemic, and gave them fines instead! Imagine something like that happened in your own life and you'd be changing your tune pretty damn quick. You are probably against the Walmart employees who finally managed to form a union. Typical comment of people who can't differentiate between football playing and the professional football business. How could it ever be "merit-based" when some clubs spend more on one player than others have for their entire budget? I wouldn't mind if the UCL collapsed and something replaced it where the clubs control most of the money. They are the ones who have to manage the huge financial risks in a business which is seldom profitable.

[@ariaiaia8887]

They are against super league because those sweet sweet money doesnt come to their pockets.

[@jacob8949]

This is probably my favourite video of yours to date. It's absolutely spot on. The increased financialisation of the world since the 70s/80s has returned enormous wealth gains for a tiny minority of shareholders, executives and landlords. Meanwhile public services hang from a thread, living standards stagnate (if not plummet) and businesses behave in increasingly unethical ways. Football is a sport made and defined by the working class, but is being squeezed to the point of being exclusionary by some of the most avaricious people in society. Loved every second of this, it really scratched at my 'class-rage itch'.

[@paul1234730]

Everybody keeps repeating this, but fails to grasp the root of the issue (tip: starts with "capital" and ends with "ism"), and almost everybody is resistent to any real change, because they're too involved and caught up in the system.

[@jacob8949]

@@paul1234730 Well, technically I agree with you. It's just that 'end Capitalism' seems seems a bit overkill (not to mention extraordinarily difficult to actually do) when we're talking about corruption/money in football. So favouring a variant of Capitalism that isn't so obsessed with the financial sector seems a bit more practical (and even that's a stretch!)

[@rohilthomson]

@@paul1234730 okay commie. Take a one way trip to Cuba and enjoy your bread queues.

[@frederz6]

I agree Alfie is spot on but that made me depressed since there is little to nothing the average person can do about it.

[@shawklan27]

Preach it's pretty much impossible for any club that isn't in the big team bubble to get any chance of champion success in these leagues that it makes the race for the title feel borderline predicable

[@ahmedmuslim8058]

As a legend once said "It's a disgrace,It's a f**king disgrace"

[@MorganLeodeMenezes]

Drogba 😍

[@aobasuzukaze1032]

this is definitely UEFA trying to make Champions League more like American sports and I really don't know how to feel about that. but thank you Alfie for this coverage

[@casualpaokfan]

Nope. Euroleague is like that in basketball and it is more exciting than anything in the nba or something like that

[@alehlete830]

BRO ITS JUS TCASUE THEY WILL GET MORE MONE YCASUE EXTRA 100 MATCHES

[@morre6894]

Ruining everything as usual with their lack of identity, the same thing with these new corporate-esque logos popping up everywhere. Football is more than a bizz, darn ass yanks.

[@jarretc110]

i don't know a single American sport that functions like this. they just want more champions league games.

[@harshittoppo6464]

@@casualpaokfan u are right mate I was just thinking of commenting this

[@olakunle0078]

It's shameful, and UEFA and European club owners are close to killing the golden goose. The reason why folks love the current format is down to clubs not playing each other every week.it makes these games special!! Like the presenter wasn't a fan of Champions League and still not, it should only be league champions of each league.

[@alehlete830]

BRO ITS JUS TCASUE THEY WILL GET MORE MONE YCASUE EXTRA 100 MATCHES

[@ripumaharjan474]

truee...thats the same reason why we didn't want Super League too

[@worlddd7777]

We already have sort of Super League now with this Champions League. More less, same clubs playing over and over.

[@pritapp788]

"folks love the current format" Yeah, surely you mean folks who have not known what European competitions looked like before 1999/00.

[@beefchampion2792]

The current group stage is a joke and can be totally skipped. It fixes 8 groups with 2 clear favourites in each one of them that 90 to 95% of the time go through. A swiss format is much more interesting. I don't like the increase to 10 games, but the structure IS better.

[@khanji_klub2331]

Gonna be a sad day when we hear that theme for the last time

[@swikarneupane]

210 countries and 42 groups is actually a really exciting idea. Lots of upsets.

[@derekg5889]

Seems like youre talking about an eventual FIFA global nations league 😳🤭

[@deviljho4260]

@DDeglane16 Uzbekistan to score 3 goals in extra time snatching the win from Zimbabwe

[@ronb5714]

In theory? Yeah. In reality? Four group games, followed by six knock-out matches for the eventual finalists would mean a tournament which lasted around three months. It would butcher club football (and do no favours to clubs’ pre-season plans); the lunatics at FIFA would doubtless augment the third-place play-off with fifth-place play-off matches and similar nonsense; and many (a majority of?) fans would simply lose interest midway through the tournament as it droned on. And don’t even ask me to guess how you’d host it. We’ve tried having a Euros spread across multiple countries and it was rubbish, but there are *no* countries which could host the near-500 matches it would entail.

[@dylanwolf]

I'd like to see no parachuting between the three competitions. Each club should only be able to compete for one European trophy per season. That way clubs from weaker nations have an opportunity to progress in the Europa or Conference competitions. Otherwise how can Eastern European clubs in general ever hope to prosper? Clubs with huge potential followings and proud traditions in those nations continually fail to provide strong opposition to the wealthy clubs of the West. Guaranteeing that Big Clubs can't fail means they will play fewer matches with critical outcomes and they will consequently field weaker line ups, even in ties against other Big Clubs. Plus WHAT ABOUT THE PLAYERS? The ridiculous overload of matches players are currently required to play all year round is ridiculous and highly damaging - what is the European Nation's League for? To add even more fixtures is abhorrent and will drastically shorten the careers of vulnerable young players.

[@Micfri300]

Fantastic comment.

[@Micfri300]

Would also revert back to individual club coefficient rather than the league you are in.

[@antonycloke6498]

Great Comment!

[@alehlete830]

BRO ITS JUS TCASUE THEY WILL GET MORE MONE YCASUE EXTRA 100 MATCHES

[@alehlete830]

eh when u get knocked out paly offs or qualifiers ort finish 3rd i ngroup u get put to the comptition below spazzzzzzzz

[@omarbabakarkhail]

So the super league principles that Ceferin critiqued are being implemented into the CL. His criticism of Agnelli now really is a joke.

[@stingersplash]

This was announced the week after the SL folded. But barely anyone notice.

[@omarbabakarkhail]

@@stingersplash Unfortunately the media narrative is what runs the show. As greedy as they depicted Perez and the super league boys, UEFA is no better. All the pundits spoke about what a catastrophe this would be, yet now I haven’t seen any analysis despite there being downtime from club football.

[@russellward4624]

@@omarbabakarkhail but this change is to keep those teams happy. It's not something UEFA are championing. This is them trying to satisfy those clubs.

[@VR46314]

If uefa had the super league it would’ve happened

[@omarbabakarkhail]

@@russellward4624 Not really. All those clubs would get more revenue from participating in the ESL, whilst now UEFA takes a huge chunk. The winner of the CL makes less than a relegated PL team at the end of the season. I’m in no way a fan of the ESL as it would water out the product and make big games less special, but I do however have a problem with UEFA and their conduct.

[@jamesbriers696]

Part of the insidious plan to remove, bit by bit, the threat to the big clubs revenue caused by not qualifying for the European competitions. Super league stepping stone.

[@andrew7taylor]

That's the 5000 IQ chess move. They don't have to leave UEFA to form a superleague if UEFA is doing it for them...

[@bighands69]

This has nothing to do with big clubs revenues. There is a mentality of wanting a European state and having singular sports competitions and instructions is part of that mentality. It is not some big conspiracy but just the ideology of those involved in various organizations.

[@yusufkassim8236]

Hey Alfie, I just thought of a cracking idea for a video you could do on the turbulent recent history of Goztepe in the Super Lig. They’re one of the Super Lig’s most well supported clubs (a bit like a Newcastle United, Sunderland or Strasbourg if you may). In the 2001/02 season, they finished seventh in the top flight, however from 2002 to 2008, they were relegated five times in six seasons, due to their inability to reduce their outstanding debt which resulted in the football club being banned from signing new players during that time. In August of 2007, a business based in Istanbul, vowed to take them back to the top flight making them one of the top five clubs in the country, but they were met with lots of suspicions from the fan base, and then they handed over the ownership to another bloke called Mehmet Sepil in 2014. Anyway, they’re back in the Super Lig as a solid mid table/weaker top half team. Why am I bringing all this up? Because apparently Abramovich is looking to possibly buy the club himself, after being sanctioned from the UK. It’s a crazy crazy story and may you could look into this, not to mention, they are not only a rare example of a club that is considered a neighbourhood club, as well as the fact that they’ve played in 3 different stadiums since 2011, but also in 1969, they became the first Turkish football team to play a semi-final of a European competition.

[@CattaneoL]

wow kzbin.info/www/bejne/rp2tnGWqeN6pgbc

[@alehlete830]

BRO ITS JUS TCASUE THEY WILL GET MORE MONE YCASUE EXTRA 100 MATCHES

[@strasbourgsteve]

love this video idea to talk about Göztepe! another Turkish club worth doing a video about would be Kardemir Karabükspor. their downfall ever since they got relegated from the Süper Lig about 4 years ago they've been finishing bottom of every league they've been in. nearly every Karabukspor game has been at the very least a 3-0 loss and its a major miracle if they even draw

[@yusufkassim8236]

@@strasbourgsteve wow look the idea of a video on that! Thanks for telling me about this :)

[@strasbourgsteve]

@@yusufkassim8236 no problem my friend

[@ANGLORUSSIANCZ]

It'll be like having wildcards and special invitations, like say in tennis and golf. Except these will be for failing big name clubs rather than up and coming talent.

[@MrSniperfox29]

I remember when Real Madrid played Manchester United in the first knockout round of the champions league, Platini stated that such a tie should never take place at such a stage because it was "unfair" on the fans to see big clubs play each other in anything other than the finals. That and UEFA would make more money if it was later in the tournament

[@adrianstere]

Let me change that: "is was very unfair for our pockets at UEFA mafia, that this teams actually meet each other so early. It was a mistake. It will never happen again." And i never did.

[@Markoski1986]

I agree with your view on how the champions league should be. No group stage, just straight knockout against any club. Hence why it was called the European Cup. You had to beat the best to be the best, not avoid the best until the quarter/semi-finals. Also only the league champions can compete and not 4th place, but money comes first I presume 🤷🏼

[@CaptainQuo]

Even if we returned to that format, we would need major changes such as salary caps, proper FFP rules that actually severely punish teams, and less glory hunting idiocy. Football will always be rigged at that level because of money.

[@Micfri300]

A knockout format wouldn't be the answer though for multiple reasons.

[@mik3049]

So what are smaller clubs who rely on income from the champions league fixtures gonna do?

[@MonTheWell1886]

@@mik3049 Most of the money right now comes from qualifying for the CL and those smaller teams that rely on the income from the CL are usually the champions of their own league.

[@CaptainQuo]

@@mik3049 Cut costs and stop massively overspending?

[@janvisser4132]

Everyone who whinks that professional football is a sport is fooling himself. It is entertainment, doesn't have anything to do with who is actually the best. Footbal on high level died as a sport when money got involved.

[@kuru6626]

It stopped when clubs started to get run like companies. And with more investors it gets worse. You right

[@xxjammymanxx]

So early 1900's then? Professional sport has always been about money.

[@janvisser4132]

@@xxjammymanxx something like that. I believe it was around 1890 when players got payed to come play for another club for the first time.

[@xxjammymanxx]

@@janvisser4132 People objected that clubs would lose their soul and identity now that players not from the local area could play for them. I just find that wanting to go back to the past is just pointless.

[@janvisser4132]

@@xxjammymanxx I didn't say I want to go back. Nothing in life is fair, I don't see why sports should be an exception.

[@jtjr26]

Great video. I agree with you mostly. The changes are not good for the game. They are cheapening the Champions League by allowing far too many teams to participate. The Europa League is supposed to be the consolation prize for teams that had a good season but were not quite good enough to get into the Champions League. Now teams may get in based on their past results. The problem is the people in charge of the game at FIFA, UEFA, and other confederations are not good stewards of the game. They do not make decisions for sporting reasons but for financial reasons. Eventually, that is going to catch up with them.

[@vincesalamander5980]

30 years ago, when you win an European Cup, even the Cup Winners or the UEFA, you made a great performance The Champions was the best, of course, but the other was a proof of great season The Europa and Conference League are FAR from that Even if Barça won the Europa, it's because they were to weak to be in the top 16 in C1...

[@JROC2112]

Hopefully this will ensure that the richest teams always progress. Maybe UEFA should introduce some sort of paywall for smaller clubs so they can buy their way into this competition.

[@alr68]

Excellent idea, and the highest bidder of a game can select the venue

[@Micfri300]

Hopefully you are being sarcastic

[@mfbjo6854]

By the way, UEFA would like to thank the sponsor of this years competition: RAID: Shadow Legends

[@EnglishJohnnie]

You know what? They should just make the competition an auction. Highest bidder wins.

[@alehlete830]

BRO ITS JUS TCASUE THEY WILL GET MORE MONE YCASUE EXTRA 100 MATCHES

[@ericxpenner]

Great video, Alfie. We can't have anything nice. Everything must be monetized, and everything that is already monetized must have further monetization and further price increases. If you're enjoying something without paying loads of money, that's seen as a problem to many people both within football and without.

[@collydub1987]

It's called capitalism mate.

[@BlaugranaEverything]

The Sport Betting industry I think has contributed greatly to the bastardisation of football. I don't know if you have already covered that topic, but I'd be glad to hear your take on the influence that sport betting has had on football.

[@Jimbo-wx9pu]

Rugby union did something similar with their European cup but instead had 2 groups of 12 where you would only play 2 of those teams home and away. The system is terrible in my view and sadly I think the new system will not be as good especially the qualifying system. To me this takes away the importance of the later rounds when you actually get these big matches

[@involuntarilychad4048]

I'm just not going to watch it anymore

[@borisnegrarosa9113]

@@involuntarilychad4048 Same here. European club football is being adapted to Asian and American consumers. The sport is basically dead.

[@SK-zy2ri]

Exactly it's bad very bad news 😕

[@SK-zy2ri]

This can't b allowed to happen

[@vincesalamander5980]

In rugby I think it was just because of COVID, so they have to decrease thé number of games

[@constablekennedy7705]

Society Insists on Changing everything that Worked just Fine previously and The Game of Football is no different …. ⚽️

[@DGAMINGDE]

Tbh I think the solution is actually change but in the direction of ownership of companies by employees.

[@alr68]

Think you missed the video mate, it's not society that wants these changes, it's the rich who want it so your money becomes their money.

[@damjanp7920]

@@alr68 hmm almost as if people in society should through some action force the rich to commit radical changes of the system we live in, hmmm

[@shawklan27]

@@alr68 exactly

[@russellward4624]

What things is society have been working just fine?

[@mikeisthelunawolf]

I'm starting to think that maybe the Super League wouldn't be a bad idea. That way you could have a Champions League way more competitive without the richest of the riches in football.

[@power279]

Basically Europa League level teams🤣

[@liborkundrat185]

I think Super League will happen eventually. Every single step towards favouring big teams (such as two teams getting into the CL by having good previous seasons) keeps the momentum which gives those teams (and their owners) more power. Stopping at any point means a breakaway super league, continuing the momentum leads to a CL super league. It's inevitable, I'm afraid. If just few teams (or leagues) breakaway, it'd make CL really interesting, though. Take away English, German, Spanish, Italian and French teams (+ Ajax) and you have a fairly unpredictable competition. I mean, who would take the crown there? RB Salzburg? AIK? Standard Liege? Sheriff Tiraspol? Hajduk Split? Anything's possible. (Alright, Benfica would have the best chances there, but it'd still be far less predictable than it is now.)

[@rayX98]

@@liborkundrat185 go watch the conference league if you won't teams that nobody cares about to win

[@tarik6990]

The more football becomes elitist the more all those directors and leaders will drive fans away until it becomes irreversible for them. Every single decision taken by UEFA in the past 10 years has been deeply moronic (new Euro format, abolishing the UEFA cup, introducing the Europa Conference League, the list goes on..)

[@shawklan27]

Preach

[@Micfri300]

The conference league has allowed for teams outside top 5 leagues the ability to make more money though.

[@Micfri300]

The uefa cup in its old format was truly abysmal. 5 teams in the group stages wtf

[@tarik6990]

@@Micfri300 That was the very old format, it changed afterwards.

[@Micfri300]

@@tarik6990 the last format of the uefa cup before the europa league was introduced was exactly like i said.

[@jordan_roadhouse4798]

Infantino is all over this. He was pro Super league, this is to appease the members of that failed attempt.

[@campbelljacable]

can't help think it were built to fail. months of scheming and they didn't even manage to get a functioning website off the ground. next thing you know both fifa and uefa have carte blanche to fundamentally alter the game with the biannual world cups and champions league overhaul completely unchallenged because all eyes were on the esl trainwreck.

[@RyanMK666]

So just Real Madrid fans then? Cos almost all the fan bases ripped into the clubs owners for the attempt.

[@alehlete830]

BRO ITS JUS TCASUE THEY WILL GET MORE MONE YCASUE EXTRA 100 MATCHES

[@jordan_roadhouse4798]

@@campbelljacable Exactly. They kept the scheming away from the media because they surely knew the backlash would occur. It is simple deflection tactics, the 'new champions league' format is very similar to the ESL. And leagues over KO competitions always benefit the elite. And the elite clubs are the money makers.

[@jordan_roadhouse4798]

@@RyanMK666 Huh???

[@-ac-8296]

Like most sports, football peaked in the 80s to early 2000s and had been going downhill on the money train ever since

[@noobgun12]

I mean atleast hockey is still fine tho i doubt that lasts

[@aaronagnew3443]

The Glazers are gonna love the new Champions League format

[@kindmulberry7196]

They love going for anything that's immoral

[@zephiel1932]

They don't really benefit from it, its uefa just doing the superleage idea with extra steps to line their pockets.

[@ratzinger3814]

alfie using his platform to radicalise his audience against the wealthy elite and corporate greed is exactly what i needed

[@AR-rg2en]

Workers of the world unite

[@oswaldjames5332]

Love All the points You made especially at the End showing what happens when PROFITS are the primary goal.(😁) I'd like to add that match "Fauxing" is a Great Concern; and it's reared up quite a bit since lockdowns and Empty Stadiums! ✌️😎

[@matthiasm4299]

My big fear with the Swiss system is that smaller clubs will play smaller clubs and big clubs will play big clubs. Who knows how the algorithm will actually work, but qualifying for the CL might feel a lot less special if it doesn't guarantee games against the likes of Real, Bayern, etc. Also, will fans be fine with fixtures being determined by a complicated algorithm rather than a simple one-time draw into groups?

[@C0DW1TH5ANDEL5]

I'm actually more worried about the opposite, big clubs only playing small clubs to basically guarantee the final 16 will only be teams from the top 6 countries.

[@one-0-eight108]

They ruined it years ago when they let teams other than champions to enter. How can they call it champions league when barely a third of the teams are actual champions?

[@worlddd7777]

Agreed, and if Tottenham won in 2019, we would have European Champion than havent wont domestic title since 1961

[@dokmatic1]

Love your videos Alfie, always so informative and interesting. Much obliged for the work you do : )

[@JROC2112]

I'd have to say your assessment is very well thought through and the use of Boeing as an example of killing the golden goose is a very good one. It's been a pleasure to listen to you. Thanks.

[@DGAMINGDE]

I think this also shows deeper problems in society. Due to everything I have seen not only from football but other parts of society it is necessary to fight for self ownership of companies by their employees. I often see the fight between government vs private industries but footall has shown the successes of fan-owned teams and there are other examples of cooperatives in society which have a similar idea behind them. I've decided for some time now to not only protest but to vote for politicians that favor this model or whose party is most likely to support ideas like that. Sadly in countries like Germany there isn't a party like the british Co-Operative party which openly supports this.

[@alexanderbrundin7620]

ok communist

[@DGAMINGDE]

@@alexanderbrundin7620 Thats communism?

[@yashlind]

@@DGAMINGDE ur thinking of a communist dictatorship which is horrible but the idea of communism is not a bad for businesses like if you own ur business with your employees then you change what you and uphold ur own morals but society don't like that

[@DGAMINGDE]

@@yashlind You are aware that you can't go fom capitalism to communism in one step?

[@derrengui]

@@DGAMINGDE no it's not communism it co-operativism which is also present in Fascism

[@damjanp7920]

This might be the best video you made so far, from the political commentary which is always welcome if the person knows what they're talking about and if their heart is in the right place, to the ideas you laid out at the end. Must say I was a bit shocked at how direct and specific the commentary was, loved it

[@powerouletdino9405]

Great video. Comrade Alfie came out at the end there.

[@GigglyWalrus]

my favorite video to date. keep up the great work alfie

[@notthatcreativewithnames]

The FA cup in my home country uses the similar system as what you proposed, maybe because there are only 4 tiers from the top flight to the amateur league. Teams from all tiers except the top one can enter the qualification round, and then in the first round, the top tier teams join. Every team can either play home or away regardless of their league positions. (However, some amateur league teams might need to find a local ground to play because they normally don't have one. There are some times the amateur league teams offer to travel instead of playing home, depending on how the two teams and the FA negotiate.) The format offers a good chance for small amateur clubs to play with top-tier ones, although it might produce some one-sided score lines like 12-0, 18-0, or 1-22 (yes, there are all real score lines).

[@NIDOKING]

12:50 You know, a FIFA World League modeled after the Nations League fashion that UEFA started may give them the "One WC every two years" feel... As someone from Argentina, whose national league is in shambles due to constant expansions motivated by two big teams getting relegated in the past... both the CL and the WC constant expansions are old news that might end up decreasing the level of the competitions, as it happened to our league. Let sports be sports and not a popularity contest.

[@neilburns8869]

At a time when there's already too many competitive club fixtures each season, UEFA in their infinite wisdom has taken it upon themselves to add a few more. The levels of greed are only outdone by that of sheer stupidity.

[@montanaprime]

Very good video Alfie. Keep them coming

[@sissyfritz]

As always, I very much appreciate your thorough work here and you lay out an excellent case against the proposed Champions League changes. However, I can't agree with you with regards to the World Cup. You're European and you appreciate good competition, so I'm not surprised that you feel the way you do, nor do I begrudge it, but I think you may need to consider this more from a global perspective. The issue with the Champions League changes is that they will primarily benefit the bigger, wealthier teams, leaving smaller clubs to suffer. However, the WC is meant to represent the entire world and right now it favours Europe and South America far too much. Football is the number 1 sport in Africa, for example, but they currently only have 5 slots for 54 nations. The argument has always been that CONCACAF, CAF, & AFC don't compete at the same level as UEFA and CONMEBOL, and of course that's extremely valid (and true). However, much of this is because other countries simply don't have the money or experience to compete with the big European national teams (especially since the vast majority of good clubs are also in Europe). Expanding the field won't mean that suddenly small teams are going to win the Cup, of course, as it's likely that the same countries will continue to dominate the game. However, even making an appearance in the WC is a huge boon to many of these under-represented nations, not to mention a reward for the decades of loyalty and passion that many small-fed countries' fans have put into the game.

[@jamiemckell34]

Well said.. The Big Clubs are pushing and pressuring UEFA into this, UEFA needs a massive rebuild and needs to stand strong. When they try and resist thr big clubs threaten to leave. Guaranteed after 2 seasons they will pressure to up the clubs who auto qualify on the coefficient ranking.. then try and uplift it every couple of seasons

[@bighands69]

None of this has anything to do with big clubs. There has been a mentality of making Europe into a United States for decades. Sports is just one route to that endeavor. No grand conspiracy it is what certain people want. They even have a European anthem.

[@jamiemckell34]

@@bighands69 Well it is to do with big clubs, and commercialisation.. Many owned by Americans too in fact. They want to monetise competition to the fullest and protect their income by excluding the potential for getting knocked out / relagation / not qualifying.. They have been pressuring UEFA on Champions League rules for over a decade. UEFA should be the ruling body that keeps competition fair and keeps integrity in the game.. UEFA is corrupt too.. but it needs an overhaul and needs to be given the support of all other clubs.

[@Bert86]

your content is excellent, good job

[@adamcaldwell4345]

Fully agree with your proposed format Alfie. Chaos being a ladder and all we could get some very interesting winners that way.

[@Ian-gk7ne]

Qualify for the Champions league, get knocked out, go into the UEFA Cup and win it! What a joke UEFA have made of European football!!!

[@mashiah1]

UEFA already ruined the Europeans cups in 1992 when they created the Champions League. And later when they included 4th placed teams there, cancelled Cup Winners Cup and turned UEFA cup into a monster with more than 100 teams

[@CaptainQuo]

Something the youngest fans (i.e early 20's) will be unlikely to understand unless they appreciate the history of football. Doubly so if they support either the Old Firm or a wealthy English team.

[@unstoppableExodia]

Another banger of a video from our boy Alfredo. But my preferred champions league reform would be more of a league format where more teams play each other home and away and the top four finishers are the semi finalists who play off home and away to decide the finalists. And to accommodate the extra games participating teams will be excused from domestic cup competitions

[@stevenmacdonald9619]

The most powerful and accurate video you have made to date. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Brilliantly written, and brilliantly shadowed as a symptom of the financial world as a whole.

[@valeriolotta]

This was epic!!! Juxtaposing finance to the game itself from start to finish. I remember discussing the failed Super League Plans and how this was a 'they beat us at our own game' thing for UEFA. If it wasn't for the fans reacting the end result is highly questionable. Careful on nostalgia though, I believe a breakthrough is much needed and things cannot really go back. Greece, where I come from, has had one of the most corrupt football leagues since the dawn of time. For the past decade the authorities have been reforming the game every other year, constantly degrading their own product. I guess there is a point in the the past when corruption was first introduced institutionally, mirroring wider social corruption, thus engulfing the Game itself. Nostalgia would therefore in our case - the Greek case - refer to an imaginary rahter than imagined and bygone status. Can't resist thinking that this may be the case for most of the leagues apart for Europe's top 5 or 6 and the MLS probably. Perhaps initiatives of fans to progress football via equalization of opportunities and transparency of ownership, along with viable control from within and below. Oh no, that is social conflict wearing team jerseys!

[@alandobbs7727]

Champions from each league should be in straight away rather than having to qualify when teams in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France have teams that finish 3rd and 4th play one qualifier and then into the group stage

[@aleksandarignjatovic3130]

HITC Sevens, good work, thank you. What is your source?

[@grego5939]

Thanks Alfie for doing this video

[@B0BBYFL4SH]

It was ruined when they introduced seeds. should be a straight knockout, with only the league champions and cup holders qualifying.

[@danhoppy5517]

It was ruined when they let teams partake that had not won their league. ManU would never have done the treble in '99, as Arsenal won the league the previous season. The teams that win the Champions League are not necessarily the best team in Europe, as Liverpool picked up two cups before they were the best team in the country.

[@Micfri300]

Why should the coppa italia winners be given a champions league spot when the top 8 from last season get a bye into the last 16?

[@vinhbao9738]

@@danhoppy5517 Actually thats what unique about UCL. League runner up teams beating league champions. Chelsea beat Man City, Milan beat Juve, and many other instances. People often thought league champions should be favorites against league runner up but end up losing in their most important matches.

[@DePeaceHunter]

@@vinhbao9738 Agree. Why fixate on the term "champion"? 3rd position in certain league is better than the champion of some other league anyway, so it's not like you get a better quality by making champion league all about the champions. Besides if it's only for champions we're more likely to get the same team over and over every year, as many leagues are dominated by the same clubs nowadays. That will widen the gap between these teams and the rest of the teams in their respective league even more.

[@benkidd4954]

All world teams playing in a group stage, with the actual knockout stage afterwards being the genuine World Cup would be ridiculously entertaining

[@BigManJay69]

The points at the end are very insightful

[@garyd2978]

Fantastic point of view, makes you think how far away from the sport some have gone in favour of money. Really enjoying your content.

[@christopherreynolds9254]

It’s pure favouritism over merit. It is super league through the back door

[@shawklan27]

Sneaky Basterds!

[@FlatMetal22]

I actually think the 3 tier European competition we currently have works really well. Got your top boys in the UCL. your good clubs In Europa, and up and coming teams in the conference league

[@worlddd7777]

Only they should cut Champions League for just champions and second placed, rest in Europa League and cup winners in third competition. That was best system

[@derekg5889]

@@worlddd7777 or have the champions league with the defending champion and Best team from each country, the Europa with the second tier and the conference with the third tier 🙂

[@Gluuten]

Very good video, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the 2023 Concacaf Champions League restructuring.

[@umurakansel8579]

In the 1993-94 season, Turkish champions Galatasaray eliminated Mancheser United with a 3-3 tie in England and 0-0 home. Still one of the most glorious moments in Turkish football history and everybody who lived through it remembers it down to the smallest details. Even the words the commentator used to describe Arif Erdem's goal during the first match - şımaykıl değil bütün maykıllar (not just Schmeichel, bring all the Michaels and even they can't save that goal) - are now part of the Turkish football legendarium. This should be allowed to happen much more often.

[@guransh_bhalla]

Uefa ia the worst thing ever happened to football

[@shawklan27]

They are greed Incarnated

[@kurtbrendel6610]

Great video. One little addition I'd like to make: the main culprit in all of these decisions is what you could call the management consultant mindset. The owners of these enterprises certainly want to squeeze as much cash out of them as they can, but it is the management consultant mindset that allows them to do so, and moreover allows them to do so with a good conscience, believing that's what every other rational business own would do. Without the contribution of management consultant mindset none of these things would happen, or not as effectively. In every instance in which the consumer is completely shafted, in general, you can be sure that there is usually some HBS trained, management consultant team behind it. For US residents, think of Spirit Airways, who have achieved such innovation in the field of shoddiness and shafting consumers-this is an airline completely designed my management consultants. The list goes on and on. The fact that Americans couldn't get Covid tests for the first 6+ months of the pandemic (because there were no stockpiles of PPE, and because the supply chains for such goods had been totally internationalized)-yep, management consultants again. Their influence on the US healthcare industry has been perhaps the most damaging. This may appear to be an odd tangent, but it's difficult to understand the way these things work without talking about the pervasive influence of the management consultant mindset. Otherwise you're stuck looking at things in terms of the individual owner's greed, which is only part of the story. Anyway great video

[@pjkerrigan20]

Spot on! The management consultants are just a class of upper middle management who can squeeze a bunch of money out for themselves while still providing those above them (i.e. the executives who hired the consultants) to make EVEN more. As Don Draper so eloquently put it in Mad Men when his company looks like it will change hands again and again, “who the hell is in charge, a bunch of accountants trying to make a dollar into a dollar ten? I want to build something of my own”

[@eddbuendia2295]

Hi HITC.. Can you also make a video on how can Italy National Football Team overhaul or revamp the entire system for them to be able to qualify for the next WC.. Probably just your thoughts or opinion based on your expertise.. Thanks for all these videos HITC.. ♥️

[@elldotms]

Thank you for this video 🙏

[@sidosh2229]

Day 5: Completely irrelevant to the topic of this video, but considering that the last player who played in the miracle of Bern died about 4 months ago, I would really like to see a video about the whole story between Germany and Hungary, especially because it meant so much to at least the German population

[@botondszalai77]

If he did a video Where he Really went into what happened at Bern in that final, I dont think German people would like it Very much

[@sidosh2229]

@@botondszalai77 Why? Only because of the myth (which is admittingly pretty likely) that the German team was doping, which was somewhat normal at the time? All elder people I talked about that who witnessed that win in some shape of form didn't care, they were just proud that our country meant sth again

[@tourmaline07]

I've had an idea for a format for a long time now which I think I'd share, which will give interest at each stage of the competition. A downside is a large number of fixtures across the competition but I think its good to have more teams in Europe and this also means smaller teams can have bigger opponents, like the FA Cup. No qualifiers but 256 teams enter one large European Cup format. This will mean the entire top tier of teams enter for a few higher ranked nations i.e the whole Bundesliga from the season previous qualifies. Have 4 two legged knockout rounds as follows, done on aggregate. Round 1 :128 teams qualify, top 32/256 teams seeded Round 2 64 teams qualify, top 24/128 seeds Round 3 32 teams quality, 16/64 seeded Round 4 16 teams qualify, 4/32 seeded (more jeopardy). Then a 3 game round robin with 16 teams split into 4 groups with seeded pots. Games would take place in a mini tournament on neutral ground mid season (February). Fixtures arranged so all matches apart from clashing final group games are televised in a unique slot. Top 2 from each group qualify to single leg knockouts which are on neutral ground and at the same host nation as the final itself. (May)

[@alehlete830]

BRO ITS JUS TCASUE THEY WILL GET MORE MONE YCASUE EXTRA 100 MATCHES

[@luuduonghy659]

This idea actually look good if you are football fan but the issue is FIFA will get money from these extra 100 matches Also how do team qualified? And what happen if team lose the first 3 rounds? Will they been eliminated completely from European tournament?

[@tourmaline07]

@@luuduonghy659 Yeah, if you lose the first knockout rounds then you are out for the season. Seeding to balance jeopardy with make sure larger teams don't crash out too soon. (before December) In terms of extra matches and money I was thinking that by having more teams enter and a round Robin tournament UEFA could monetise that. Teams might miss a small number of gate reciepts. Teams would qualify straight from league placings - i.e 20 teams from England which would be all PL teams, say 10 teams from a league like Poland and Scotland, 5 teams from Ireland

[@luuduonghy659]

@@tourmaline07 This will be unfair to the losing team in first 3 qualifying round. Best solution is transfer them to UEFA Europa League in third qualifying round

[@tourmaline07]

@@luuduonghy659 don't majorly like the idea of a secondary competition for teams who lose out in the first rounds tbh but one might need to be setup to give the teams fixtures

[@spyros219]

A banger of a video yet again Alfie.You're one of the few media outlets who say the truth about the direction football is going.Major companies like BT, Sky, CNN and of course the big clubs don't give a damn as long as these changes don't hurt their pockets.Keep the great journalism going!!

[@MrBunney91]

This is a bloody good video, Alfie!

[@sofixa11]

Also, adding teams to the Euros and World cup doesn't reduce unpredictability - without that we probably wouldn't have had Iceland, Croatia, Switzerland making surprising long runs. For every Italy getting a lifeline, there'd also be a North Macedonia or Wales.

[@arkannaufal29n]

yes personally i think it's a great thing. I mean the World Cup was 16 teams, back when there were less countries right? So it's natural to have more slots, when there is more existing countries. Hey, that's my two pennies.

[@ivaneurope]

@@arkannaufal29n And I think the playing level of teams outside Europe and South America has increased over the past 3 decades. African teams for example have come a long way from being just a filler to giving established teams a run for their money. Everyone was shocked when at the 2002 World Cup a debuting Senegal threw the bombshell on the opening game no less by beating the reigning champions France. The Senegalese went on to have a really deep run by reaching the 1/4 Finals. What about Ghana, who were one penalty away (courtesy of perenial villain Luis Suarez) from reaching the Final Four in South Africa. In that same World Cup in South Africa, New Zealand (ranked 78th, one of the worst ranked nations) though didn't pass the Group Stage, they were undefeated throughout their 3 matches against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay. 4 years later in Brazil Costa Rica managed to be the best nation from the CONCACAF zone by reaching the 1/4 Finals only losing to the Netherlands on penalty shoot-out. And let's not forget South Korea's run (albeit controversial due to clunky officiating) in 2002.

[@michal0114]

For the future World Cup Competitions.... Seeing your own Nation play (mostly over the summer holidays) is an amazing bring your family/friends together spectacle. Having more Nations involved is a great idea I'm all for it.

[@HIM-lk6of]

Great video mate. The greed of those controlling this sport will be the undoing of it. I hope common folks see the dangers and do enough so that the sport doesn't eat itself alive.

[@hugosanchez2369]

Everyone should watch this, football fan or not. This is happening to EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE... Profit is put before everything these days...even healthcare. Well done for putting this out Alfie!!

[@QazwerDave]

The weaker teams having to play an extra play off to move on is unfair to them, while better sides can rest.

[@whatudoin1]

In theory but weaker don't really expect to move on but they welcome the income from more games

[@QazwerDave]

@@whatudoin1 Half the teams playing play off would move on, though. And then they meet teams that has played less

[@fifaelregala2610]

Please make a video on the disgraceful actions by the Senegalese fans against Egyptian players, such as thousands of lasers, throwing stones and bottles at players and staff, and signs with obscenity directed to Egyptian players.

[@kindmulberry7196]

I think there should also be a video on the anglophobia that has spread through football in recent years, since noone is talking about it yet it just continues to be accepted despite being plainly wrong

[@i8uGaming]

I don't often bother to comment on a youtube video but what Alfie is saying here is pretty much spot on. It's sad to see this happen to football, and even sadder knowing there is no way we can change it. Another truth that is almost as terrible is how even when we try to make these competitions random to a fair degree, the big clubs are already so far ahead that they tend to win anyway. Since the start of the 2013/14 season, only one club outside the big 6 has won the FA Cup or the League Cup (Leicester having won the FA Cup last season).

[@rosswarner9793]

Great work Alfie

[@CaptainQuo]

Don't be daft, the Champions League was never prestigious. Not when it can be won with money by only a handful. It lowers the prestige of European football. Gone are the days of Red Star Belgrade, Steaua Bucharest, Nottingham Forest or Gothenburg challenging for European Cups and instead it's about 5-6 English teams plus Barca and Madrid.

[@AnimanuiVasile]

Perfectly said

[@leemcdonald1342]

I really hope the World Cup doesn't expand to 64 teams...

[@ViddeBrorsson]

Sad but very good and on point video!

[@yasser3378]

the only hitc videos i wait for

[@naibafw360]

Well thats neoliberalism for you

[@RyuzakiTaiyou]

Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 298) I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored. If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.

[@CharlieyT95]

You've got to admire the dedication

[@alexroberts771]

Your idea for the Champions League at the end of the video is something I would love to see at the world cup with all the nations involved

[@Sum41rthe1]

Too much of a good thing spring to mind here. Come this part of the season I am just about wearing thin on football. Looking forward to the run to the end of the season but this international break was a godsend. Tired of being stressed about the results! We don't need more games per year!

[@codreacodrut2729]

Hi Alfie, i have one question about the new format, how will the 10 games be decided from a 36 group team ?

[@multoxgaming5756]

Great Video. But (11:20) I dont think Italy would have qualified if the tournament had 48 places this year. Since UEFA will get 3 additional places, I would assume the change in qualification will be that they will scrap the play off finals and all winners of this years semi finals would be qualified.

[@tommyhotspur94]

Fully agree! Don’t fix something thats not broken! 👍🏼

[@richardmartin4608]

Well said. We are in an era where the SILVER DOLLAR is everything. Hope it runs in cycles and in the future will return to some sensibility. Unfortunately we live in a world where the goalposts are constantly moved to accommodate people/clubs/companies/governments who's only goal is to profit. I am over twice your age and over the past 10/15 years have realised this dominance, of the hierarchy, so hats off to you. Great video with far reaching points, keep up the great work and insight.

[@Strangegloves]

alfie m8, i ve got a really interesting idea for a vid. how about a look a jimmy glass goal for carlise in the 99 season. a goal scored by a keeper that saved carlise from relegation and doom and that killed scarbrough the team that went down.

[@Keiphton27]

Well done mate!

[@OS-Truth]

Best video yet. Heard it hear first. Coming from a chartered accountant and external auditor.

[@-ac-8296]

This is one of the best videos on KZbin

[@jackosallotment6224]

Totally agree with you when my team Villa won the European cup in 1982 I was a young kid who was amazed that they did against Bayern Munich. I went to the semi final at villa park and loved it. That was when football was football we were murdered but we kept going and withes shin did it for us cheers 🍻

[@mdjcsmith]

I will be curious to see which team makes into those two slots that has the lowest domestic league table position. Can a team in the relegation zone or even in the second tier domestically (in theory) still qualify because of recent history? Should be interesting times ahead

[@WellismoCoaching]

Solid points all around. It's $occer now. Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it. Maybe time to find an exciting new sport with more unpredictability and excitement. I like your voice btw.

[@amrj77]

Outstanding video