UCL draw: UEFA set to withdraw FIFA boycott threat

Thursday’s draw for this season’s Champions League has been somewhat overshadowed by the latest developments in the dispute between UEFA and FIFA over plans to bring private financing into the World Cup, with European football’s governing body expected to drop a threatened boycott of global competitions.

UEFA, whose clubs and national teams dominate football’s global economy, reacted furiously when it emerged in late July that Gianni Infantino’s FIFA was aiming to create a commercial subsidiary to run its biggest events, such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.

The proposal would have allowed private investors to acquire stakes in a company created under the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative.

UEFA, under president Aleksander Ceferin, had described the proposal in scathing terms, labelling it a “shady, opaque backroom deal”.

“No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive,” said the European governing body in a strong statement widely credited as being pivotal in the controversial plan being quickly shelved.

However, with UEFA executives and European member associations meeting in the glitzy surrounds of Monaco on Thursday just before the Champions League draw, sources told AFP the threat to boycott FIFA tournaments would “likely” be withdrawn.

UEFA had demanded that the plan be ditched, but also sought assurances “that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again”.

One source on Wednesday told AFP that they were satisfied that second condition had now been met.

The immediate result of that will be that UEFA does not risk undermining its united front in wanting Infantino to step down, which would be the case if not all of its members backed a boycott.

The Under-20 Women’s World Cup takes place in Poland next month and European qualifying for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil is still ongoing.

– PSG target three in a row –

Meanwhile, in the men’s game, the focus reverts back to the cream of club football in the aftermath of the World Cup in North America.

With the leading leagues in Europe getting going again, the continent’s elite will discover later Thursday who they will face in the league phase of this season’s Champions League.

Paris Saint-Germain will begin their quest to win a third consecutive title after retaining the European Cup at the end of last season by beating Arsenal on penalties in the final in Budapest.

The Real Madrid team of 2016 to 2018 are the only side in the last 50 years to have been European champions three years running.

“We have won the last two, which means we can win a third. It will be very hard, but that is our ambition,” PSG coach Luis Enrique told reporters earlier this month.

This is the third season since the introduction of a new format for the Champions League, with 36 teams now all pooled together in one giant league and each playing games against eight different opponents.

Elite European club football is becoming increasingly polarised, and the continent’s richest teams will again feature prominently and take away the majority of the riches on offer.

Half the competing clubs will come from the leading domestic leagues in England, Spain, Italy and Germany. The Premier League has five representatives in Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa, while Spain also has five clubs including Real Betis who return to the Champions League after two decades away.

Como, coached by former Arsenal, Barcelona and Spain star Cesc Fabregas, will feature for the first time after upsetting the traditional order in Italy.

There will also be a Champions League debut for upstarts Sabah of Azerbaijan, who started out in the first qualifying round and have won four ties to reach this point.

LASK of Austria also make their debut in the Champions League proper after a stunning comeback to beat Celtic in the play-offs.

The first round of matches in this season’s competition will take place between Tuesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 10.

The league phase will conclude in late January, while this season’s final will be played at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on June 5, 2027.

AFP