15 Feb 2010Playoff system 'could determine last UEFA Champions League place'

Football Clubs News | Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

The team finishing seventh in the top flight would have a chance of Champions League football under proposals currently being considered by the English Premier League.

According to the Guardian, league officials have presented a new proposal to make the division more competitive and loosen the stranglehold of the so-called big four clubs.

Under the revised system, the top three teams would receive automatic qualification for the Champions League as normal, but the clubs finishing fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh would enter a playoff to determine the final European spot.

It is understood that the proposal was raised at a recent league meeting and was "enthusiastically supported" by all the teams, with the exception of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

However, the newspaper notes that plan would only need a majority vote of 14-6 to become reality.

English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is now expected to announce further details of the proposal in April.

Ironically, the current season has produced one of the fiercest battles for fourth place in the history of the competition, with Liverpool's position currently under threat from Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa.

Written by Terry Mitchell

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