The UEFA Cup, European soccer's secondary club competition, could be set for a major revamp, possibly into aleague format.
Mike Lee, the communications chief for European governing body UEFA, said today that the competition, which is now played on a knockoutbasis, was under review.
After discussions with the clubs, UEFA hope to make recommendations about the future of the tournament at the end of the year or early in 2002.
"The UEFA Cup needs a separate look. We can see the merit of reform to the UEFA Cup," he said at the 'Sportbusiness 2001' conference.
Europe's major clubs are guaranteed a series of games in the Champions League because of the league format in the first and second rounds.
UEFA is now coming under pressure from other clubs to provide the same guarantees in the secondary competition.
Asked if a league format could be on the cards in the early rounds, Lee told Reuters: "There is a certain amount of pressure which we think hassome merit to it.
"In the same way that people have got a certain number of guaranteed games in the Champions League, we can see why that may be a relevantconsideration in the UEFA Cup for clubs who are traditionally competing in the UEFA Cup.
"How you do that and how many group stages you have, if you have group stages, are all open questions. But within UEFA this review andconsultation process is a genuine one. We would be minded to support some sort of change in the UEFA Cup."
The Champions League, Europe's most lucrative competition, is set to stay in the same format until 2003, Lee said.
The British official said revenue for the event from television and sponsorship had exceeded one billion Swiss francs ($588.6 million) for thisseason.
He also said 11.5 million people in Germany had watched Bayern Munich's quarter-final victory over English champions Manchester United ontelevision on Wednesday, with the viewing figures in Britain totalling 9.6 million.
Reuters