Champions League news as UEFA tournaments will all have a new format from next season and three extra clubs have been added to the competition
UEFA has revealed the clubs that will be added to the Champions League next season as the tournament undergoes a transformation.
The European football governing body has declared that the Champions League will no longer feature the standard group stage for its first round. Instead, a new 'Swiss League' format will be introduced, where teams play eight matches instead of the usual six home and away games, all ranked in one table.
All 36 teams will be in the same standings, with fixtures determined by drawing two teams from each of the four seeded pots. To choose these four new clubs, UEFA announced that qualification would be decided through various routes.
Two of the additional spots were awarded to the two highest-ranking nations on UEFA's co-efficient leaderboard. England was in contention for this spot, but due to poor European performances last season, both Italy and Germany received the extra Champions League place.
As a result, Bologna and Borussia Dortmund will participate in the Champions League next season. Tottenham Hotspur would have qualified for the competition if England had finished in the top two of the leaderboard after finishing fifth in the Premier League, reports football.london.
Manchester United ensured their qualification for Europe via winning the FA Cup against Manchester City last month. Had they not been victorious at Wembley then they would not have been in any competition, missing out on the Conference League due to their eighth-place finish.
Another spot was given to the nation ranked fifth in UEFA's co-efficient leaderboard, which usually only has two teams qualifying for the Champions League. This time, the extra spot was given to France, with Brest taking advantage.
The last spot will be given through the champions' qualifying path, which will extend from four to five teams' next season. The club to fill this spot is yet to be decided and will be chosen after four qualifying rounds.
United's surprise FA Cup success also meant that Newcastle was left without a place in Europe.
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