CHAMPIONS
LEAGUE
ONS LEAGUE. This situation
could arise if the the winners
of the 1996-97 UEFA CHAM
PIONS LEAGUE finish outside
the top two in their domestic
championship. This situation
also means that it is possible
for two teams from one coun
try to play in the qualifying
round. The defending
European champions would
be one of the eight automatic
qualifiers for the group phase,
leaving places for only coun
tries ranked from 1-7 on the
coefficient list. Country number
8 would be entitled to two
entrants, but both would have
to qualify for the group phase.
If this were to hap
pen, the domestic champi
ons of the association ranked
48 would have to be diverted
into the UEFA Cup to make
way for the extra competitor.
If the defending
UEFA CHAMPIONS
LEAGUE winners, belonging
to one of the eight top-
ranked associations, finish
first or second in the domes
tic championship, the asso
ciation concerned will only
be allowed to enter two
clubs. In other words: num
ber three in a national
league will never be invited.
The two teams who
qualify for the quarter-finals
as runners-up will play their
first leg at home, they can
both be drawn against any
other qualified team, except
the club which they played
against in the group phase.
UEFA's Club
Competitions' Committee will
examine the seeding proce
dure for the draw of the six
groups. Special considera
tion will be given to the use
of the coefficient ranking
table as a basis for seeding.
The Committee will
also advise national associa
tions on how to handle a situ
ation where the top two in the
league championship are
also the cup finalists. That
country's representative in the
Cup Winners' Cup could be
decided in a play-off between
the two beaten semi-finalists.
Some confusion arose
from reports that the
Executive Committee also
gave the green light to
European participation in a
World Championship for
clubs. This was evidently a
misunderstanding, as the
subject was not raised in
Antalya. Full approval was
given to European participa
tion in the Intercontinental
Cup for national Teams. As
Germany had previously
indicated that its national
team would not be available
on the projected dates, 10th
to 21st December 1997, the
Executive Committee asked
the Czech Republic to con
firm, before the next meeting
Juventus' Croatian striker, Alen
Boksic, is tackled from behind
by Manchester United's Irish
defender, Denis Irwin, on the first
match day of this season's UEFA
Champions League.
PHOTO: CHRISTIAN
LIEWIG/TEMP SPORT
in Tenerife on 5th December,
whether they would be will
ing to rep resent Europe,
and whether they could
guarantee to do so with a
full-strength team.
The introduction of a
European league was anoth
er subject which was not
discussed. UEFA's position,
however, remains unequivo
cal. Expansion of the UEFA
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE must
not signify any risk of detri
ment to national league
championships, as UEFA
maintains that, especially in
the current post-Bosman cli
mate, the protection of
national identities within foot
ball should be given priority.
7
