UEFA Plan 'Summer Champions League' to Rival FIFA Club World Cup
By Ali Rampling
Uefa are set to back a summer Champions League-style competition to rival the FIFA Club World Cup, as the battle between football's two major governing bodies continues.
The rivalry between the pair primarily stems from their respective leaders, with plenty of ill-feeling between UEFA's Aleksander Ceferin and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Tensions between the two are now set to go up a notch, as the Daily Mail reports that Uefa are in advanced talks with American producers Relevant Sport about endorsing and expanding the International Champions Cup.
The new competition would be due to clash with the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, which takes place in Shanghai in June and July next year.
The International Champions Cup is currently an invitational summer tournament run by Relevant Sport, which some of Europe's top clubs compete in annually as part of their pre-season preparations.
UEFA coming on board would see the series of what are essentially exhibition matches replaced with a full-blown competitive tournament.
According to the report, participation in the competition would be decided through a qualification process based on domestic league positions as opposed to the current invitational format, aiming to give the competition added prestige.
The tournament would initially be held in the United States, but could see future tournaments held in Asia. The International Champions Cup is primarily hosted in the US and Canada, but has previously taken place in China, Mexico and Australia.
Like the Champions League, the competition would begin with a group stage, but consisting of pools of just three teams, prior to the knock-out rounds.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal have all played in the International Champions Cup over the last seven years, with the competition offering clubs the financial incentive of expanding their markets in Asia and the United States.
Growing the competition into a more competitive tournament with added sponsorship and TV deals would bring additional revenue to European sides, helping to ease the need to grow the Champions League.
Although the plans to expand Europe's most prestigious club competition would bring additional income, the plan to add four more group games would put pressure on the already strained domestic schedule.
The expansion and commercialisation of the International Champions Cup would not add to the regular domestic season schedule, although teams would have to make a commitment to field their strongest sides when possible.