Top UEFA official Gerhard Aigner says the second group phase of the Champions League could be scrapped in order to scale down the number of matches. UEFA's flagship competition added the second group phase in 1999-2000 as clubs sought to expand the lucrative television rights business generated by the extra games.
But Aigner, UEFA's chief executive, believes the increased number of matches has taken away from the mystique of the competition and believes the only way forward is to reduce the number of fixtures. Aigner was quoted in today's edition of Swiss newspaper Le Temps as saying: "We followed the clubs' demands and offered them two match days to increase their resources. The consequences were foreseeable: we have too many matches and the question of whether or not players face too many matches remains open. We are analysing the possibility of removing this second phase. Of course that would have consequences on revenue."
Aigner said he hoped the matter would be settled by a UEFA executive committee meeting on December 12-13 at its Nyon headquarters. If the move is approved, the second phase would be axed in favour of a knockout round for the 2003-04 season.
Filed by Shane Murray
