Global, Poland/Ukraine 2012, Uefa Cup
Euros expansion threatens to lower quality threshold
Matthew Day reflects on Uefa's decision to expand the Euros from 16 to 24 nations, the hopeless rebranding of the Uefa Cup and why Michel Platini is so keen to keep Poland and Ukraine as hosts of Euro 2012.
Uefa have confirmed that the European Championships will be expanded to 24 nations from 2016, but the organisation’s alterations seem to be more about finances than football.
After the high of Euro 2008, one of the best international tournaments in memory, it seemed the Championships required little change and although the likes of England and Ukraine - both World Cup quarter-finalists - missed out, it did not affect the quality or vibe of the event.
Adding an extra eight countries will certainly boost Uefa’s coffers, however concerns have already been voiced at the potential destruction of a very popular and successful format. Some matches may attract little interest if two relatively minor nations are paired together and there is potential for the shambolic World Cup-style thrashings. Serbia, who would have qualified for the last Euros under the new set-up, were beaten 6-0 at the World Cup in Germany by Argentina while Scotland, who were in the same situation, haven’t qualified for one since 1998.
The number of nations adds further farce. There will now be six groups of four but eight sides must progress into the quarter-finals, meaning some nations will likely be relying on results in other groups to see if they are one of the best second-placed teams, which could lead to all sorts of unseemly accusations. The expansion also means nearly half of Uefa’s 53 members will take part in the finals, when only ten were good enough to progress beyond the World Cup group stages two years ago.
So the Euros will soon be welcoming the likes of Serbia, Bulgaria, Denmark and Scotland (who were the nation pushing hardest for the changes, aided immeasurably by Scot David Taylor, General Secretary of Uefa) but Michel Platini would be well-advised to add the wonderfully ever-pertinent phrase, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, onto his office wall.
Europa League adds farce to the funeral
The Uefa Cup has been renamed the ‘Uefa Europa League’ in a misguided effort to rejuvenate the flagging competition. Quite what adding eight more teams and two more group stage fixtures will do to enamour spectators and clubs to the competition is beyond me. The Uefa Cup has always been the poor person’s Champions League, comparable to the League Cup’s standing in England when there is already the renowned FA Cup.
The changes made to the tournament are unlikely to result in a sudden revival. Now with 48 teams, there will be 12 groups of four with home and away fixtures and the top two qualifying, much like in the Champions League. Minor changes like not allowing the runners-up in domestic cup finals into the competition - the likes of Millwall, West Ham and seemingly every losing finalist in Scotland have entered and failed in this manner - will not make a spot of difference until Uefa stop permitting the eight third-placed Champions League sides to enter the competition in the new year. Yet having failed to abolish this absurd situation, Uefa have demonstrated that they are really only concerned with its premier competition, suggesting it also views the Uefa Cup as vastly inferior and possibly beyond salvation.
A host of exciting finals since the turn of the century had offered hope of a resurrection, but the constant changes to its size and structure and lack of grandeur that comes with a host of unknown club sides means, whether named Uefa Cup or Europa League, the competition is destined to be disregarded.
Poland/Ukraine: A lesson in blackmail
Michel Platini’s aim when he began his Uefa presidency was to ensure Eastern Europe was better represented in club football and his sway was immediately felt with changes to the Champions League format and the shock victory of the Poland/Ukraine bid to host Euro 2012. Less surprisingly, however, is the countries’ failure to take this unexpected opportunity and show that they are capable of putting on a great show for the rest of the continent. Instead, the same old clichés about the regressed eastern side of the peninsula have been allowed to resurface as the two hosts struggle to plan efficiently or construct on time.
Uefa’s report is pretty damning. They were given a reprieve as pressure grew on the organisation to hand Spain the event, but told in no uncertain terms that this would be their last warning. Platini knows that if Poland and Ukraine fail, it would be a damning indictment of the policy that won him victory over Lennart Johansson in Uefa’s leadership elections last year. And that’s why they have been afforded so much lenience.
There were, of course, troubles in the build-up to the games in Portugal and Austria/Switzerland but Uefa appear particularly concerned with the lack of progress made by two countries which lack in modern stadia and the knowledge of how to organise such a huge tournament.
The pair must surely be grateful that they are not being forced into hosting 24 nations this time around.
Tags: Champions League, Euro 2008, Euro 2012, Michel Platini, Poland, Uefa, Uefa Cup, Uefa Europa League, Ukraine
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[...] be a reasonable decision taken for the wrong reason (namely, more matches equalling more revenue) - the counter-argument that it will dilute the quality of the tournament struggles to stand up to [...]