UEFA could guarantee a place in Champions League to any team that reaches the quarter-finals 

UEFA are considering ‘protecting’ teams who reach the closing stages of the Champions League by guaranteeing them a spot in the following season’s competition.

Ajax reached the semi-final of last season’s competition but have had to sell a series of their best players as they are not definitely going to be in next season’s tournament.

And UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has revealed that new proposals are on the table to avoid a repeat of that situation. 

Aleksander Ceferin has admitted that proposals are on the table to guarantee places

Ceferin told the Times: ‘We would like to protect teams like Ajax this year, or Monaco and Leicester City [who reached the quarter-finals] before.

‘Ajax played the semi-finals this year and now they will have to sell all their players because they don’t know if they will qualify for the Champions League next year.

‘I don’t think we should protect too many clubs, because then it’s too closed, but I think we have to protect some clubs. 

‘One idea is that those clubs who succeed at a certain stage of the competition can compete the following year too.

Currently, sides from Europe’s top four leagues get four automatic spots into the group stages

‘But it is a discussion only. We have a meeting on September 11 to debate it with leagues and clubs.’ 

There are also discussions over a format that includes four groups of eight teams rather than eight of four, and expanding the competition to 40 or 48 clubs. 

UEFA are also in advanced talks over a ‘Champions of Champions’ match between the winners of the Euros and the Copa America. 

Currently, the Champions League format precludes certain nations from automatic qualification for some clubs – such as Ajax in Holland – based on their domestic league coefficient. 

The coefficient is based on performances by clubs within a UEFA member association in European competition over the past five seasons.

The associations with the top 10 coefficients see their champions automatically qualify. Unfortunately for Ajax, ahead of the 2018-19 season, Holland’s ranking was 14th.  

Ajax will have to negotiate the qualifying rounds because of Holland’s poor league coefficient

Of the 32 teams in the group stages, 26 teams automatically qualify for the Champions League group stage through their league position or by winning the Champions League or Europa League. 

Only six then qualify through play-offs, which start with the preliminary rounds in late June. 

Currently, the top four leagues in Europe (La Liga, the Premier League, Serie A and the Bundesliga), all get four automatic spots in the group stages. 

Fifth and sixth (France and Russia) get three qualifying spots but only two are for the group stages, while 7th to 15th all get two, progressively dropping through the qualifying grounds.  

Only the domestic champions from associations ranked first to tenth go directly into the group stages, along with the winners of the Champions League and Europa League.

For Ajax, they will enter this coming season’s tournament in the third qualifying round. If they make it through that round, they must also negotiate a playoff.   

The qualification path for sides who do not automatically reach the group stages is complex. The pathway is divided into two – a league path and a champions path.

Again, depending on the league’s coefficient, sides enter either the preliminary round, the first round, second round, third round or the playoff.