Galatasary President Claims Champions League Could Be Replaced by 2018

Unal Aysal, president of Galatasary, has revealed European football clubs are in discussions about a new continental tournament that could replace the UEFA Champions League.

UEFA’s agreement with the European Club Association (ECA) expires in 2018, after which clubs would be able to establish a new European super league.

Speaking at the Leaders in Football conference in London, Aysal said: “It’s the future of football. It has to be created, and not in 10 years, but as soon as possible. Football is a great industry, a growing industry. A European super league would bring a lot of support and energize football in general.”

“I think it would be 20 big teams, with three to five teams changing every year. It can be fixed in a way to be useful to European football and bring new horizons by football. It can be controlled by UEFA or the clubs, preferably by the clubs.”

Aysal said that the plans were still in the embryonic stages and needed further development. “The system has to be put in place, either by UEFA or by the clubs themselves, then we will decide if a breakaway will be a necessity or not. “It’s not yet totally elaborated and prepared and put on the paper. But it is a concept that is under discussion for a few years.”

He also added that the proposed new competition potentially had the backing of sponsors already, “I spoke personally with some sponsors we are working with. They looked at the idea very positively. International companies. Two of them were big brands.”

The ECA, comprised of 214 clubs in Europe, have distanced themselves from Aysal’s comments and denied being involved in the discussions over any new tournament.