Leader (with others) of the sling against the Super League project, a little over a year ago, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has not missed an opportunity since then to say how much the new formula of the Champions League, adopted a few months ago, is very good news for football. This Monday again, invited to a conference organized near Lisbon by the Portuguese Federation, the president of PSG welcomed the explosion of TV rights accompanying the implementation of the new format of the C1, from 2024. Sign according to him that UEFA has done a good job.
“Sales of the new format in the United States, even without the Spanish language, increased by 150%. In the UK and France, they have increased a lot too, he said. I think that shows that the new format is a big hit even before it started, just for TV rights sales. »
The Champions League will experience its most drastic overhaul in twenty years in two years, ratified last May after the storm of the Super League, this ephemeral private competition project launched in 2021 by several rebellious clubs. “Football must be developed, but in a way that respects all clubs: small, medium and large,” argued the PSG boss, who is also president of the European Club Association (ECA) and vice-president. of UEFA.
TV rights for European club competitions have been awarded for fifteen billion euros over three years (2024-2027), a jump linked to the expansion of UEFA’s flagship event to 36 teams. The new formula which will come into effect in 2024-2025 provides, instead of the traditional group stage, for an eight-day mini-championship including all teams.