Champions League, Premier League

Will Premier League Add Playoff For Last Champions League Spot?

There is talk in England that the Premier League is considering having a playoff for its fourth Champions League place.

Currently the team that finishes fourth in the league but that could all change if plans by Premier League bosses go ahead. The proposal would take the teams finishing fourth to seventh having a playoff with the team in fourth playing a home game against the side in seventh, with the fifth-placed club at home to the sixth. The winners would meet in a Wembley playoff.

Obviously the money involved in a such a Wembley would be huge, and this would be the single richest game in soccer, beating even the playoff final to see who gets promoted to the Premier League.

U.K. reports say that between 12 and 16 clubs are believed to be in favor of the idea, with keen to explore the issue. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are said to be against the idea as they would have the most to lose under any sort of rule change. For such a rule change to pass it would need the support of 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs.

Its an interesting concept to break up the “Big Four”. With the busy calendar as it is, I am not sure if is feasible to extend the season until late May to get all these additional games in.

What do you think of the idea?