UEFA consider ditching Europa League in favour of extended CL

UEFA chief Platini hints at ditching Europa League in favour of extended CL

UEFA president Michel Platini has hinted that they are considering scrapping the Europa League in favour of an expanded Champions League.

Many English managers have bemoaned European football's second-biggest club competition.

Most have fielded weakened teams to keep their star players fit for their domestic weekend fixtures.

With broadcast deals set to change in 2015, Platini plans to discuss any switch over the next two years.

"There is an ongoing debate to determine what form the European competitions will take between 2015 and 2018," the Sun quoted Platini, as saying.

"We talk, and we will make a decision in 2014. There is nothing decided yet," he added.

The Europa League, which was known as the UEFA Cup, earns just a sixth of the Champions League's 1.08 billion pounds annual revenue, but ditching it in favor of a 64-team Champions League would likely be opposed by European Club Association members, the paper said. (ANI)