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The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) on Thursday denied holding negotiations with A22 Sports Management, the promoter of the contentious European Super League, though it acknowledged meeting with the organisation.
The clarification came after A22 claimed it was in discussions with UEFA about creating a new Champions League format.
An A22 spokesperson said the group had proposed an agreement offering a free broadcasting platform and suggesting only minor adjustments to the current competition structure.
The latest idea marks a clear departure from the semi-closed Super League concept unveiled in 2021, which nearly fractured European football. Under the new plan, the 36 teams that currently qualify for the Champions League would be split into two groups of 18, with top-ranked clubs advancing to a round of 32.
UEFA confirmed that its General Secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, had met publicly with A22 co-founder Anas Laghrari but emphasised that the discussions “produced no official results.”
“There are no plans to alter the UEFA Champions League format,” the governing body said, reaffirming that the structure introduced for the 2024–25 season remains unchanged.
The statement followed comments by Barcelona president Joan Laporta, a long-time backer of the Super League, who recently expressed hope for an “agreement with UEFA” to ease tensions within European football.
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who heads the rebranded European Football Clubs (EFC) association—formerly the European Club Association—welcomed Laporta’s conciliatory remarks during an EFC meeting in Rome.
However, Al-Khelaifi dismissed suggestions of a Super League revival, insisting the project “was already dead before.”
He added, “We don’t need other competitions. We already have the best ones.”
