SPORTS
UEFA CUP CHANGES
It became obvious that the tournament cannot compete in this format with the Champions League. At the same time, the present UEFA Cup once more proved that it has a huge potential. Thus, such clubs as “Barcelona”, “Valencia”, “Newcastle”, “Inter”, “Roma”, “and Celtic” reached 1/8 final. When the Champions League was being created, the main idea was that the great names should bring in much return. Now the time has come to apply this idea on UEFA Cup.
The regulations were approved for the next season. It was believed to introduce a new format, which envisaged the group stage with 40 clubs involved. The method tested in the Champions League will not only lead to growth of incomes but also complicate the situation of poor clubs. If they had chances to beat richer contenders in the two-round format, however, the group stage will most probably reduce the number of surprises.