The BackPage Weekly | New competition formats allow UEFA to relax its rules on multi-club ownership

By Alex Harvey & Daniel Geey

Last summer, UEFA announced its plans to revamp the format for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League club competitions from the 2024/25 season. The new ‘Swiss-model’ format, in which all clubs will compete in a single-table league phase, understandably grabbed the headlines.

However, it is another significant change to the UEFA club competition landscape which appears to have enabled the European governing body to somewhat relax its rules on multi-club ownership.

No Movement between Champions League and Europa League from 2024/25

Historically, teams which finished third in the Champions League group stage would drop down to the knockout-stages of the Europa League. However, under the new format, that inter-competition movement has been scrapped. So, once a club is eliminated from the Champions League, their European season will be over.

It is this lack of movement between the two UEFA competitions which has allowed the governing body to relax, or ‘narrow’, its rules on multi-club ownership from next season.

A Relaxing of the Rules

Previously, given the potential for clubs to move across the different European competitions in the same season, UEFA’s rules prevented clubs under common ownership from competing in the Champions League and the Europa League in the same season.

This issue came to a head last year when AC Milan and Toulouse qualified for the 2023/24 Champions League and Europa League respectively. The UEFA Club Financial Control Body investigated the ownership structures of the two clubs and only accepted their admission to the respective UEFA club competitions on the condition that certain re-structuring measures were implemented, including AC Milan’s majority owner, Gerry Cardinale, resigning from the Toulouse board.

Under the new rules, however, there would not be any such issues. That’s because, from next season onwards, clubs under common ownership will now be permitted to play in the two different UEFA competitions - in other words, one club can compete in the Champions League whilst the other competes in the Europa League. The new rules also provide that where two clubs (under common ownership) qualify for the Champions League, one of those two clubs can now drop down to the Europa League instead.

Case Study: Manchester City and Girona

So, how might these new rules affect clubs in the 2024/25 season?

In Manchester City’s case, they will be keeping a very close eye on the domestic success of Spanish club, Girona, which is 47% owned by City Football Group.

Girona currently sit in third place in La Liga, just two points behind Barcelona. Manchester City are also in third place in the Premier League, sitting one point behind Arsenal and three behind Liverpool. As things stand, both clubs are therefore on track to finish in the qualifying places for the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League.

Under UEFA’s new rules, clubs under common ownership will still be prevented from competing in the same UEFA competition. So, if Manchester City and Girona both qualify for the Champions League, and they are deemed to be operating under a common ownership model, they would not both be able to play in the 2024/25 Champions League.

Instead, City Football Group would have a decision to make. Either they retain the same ownership structure, in which case one of the two clubs would be permitted to drop down to the Europa League (see further, below), or they may need to restructure (as AC Milan and Toulouse did) in order to satisfy UEFA that they no longer operate under a common ownership model.

The key difference, therefore, is that the potential choice facing owners (of common ownership clubs) is no longer so severe. Previously, the choice was between restructuring vs. one of the clubs not being able to compete in Europe at all. Whereas now, the choice will be between restructuring vs. one of the clubs dropping down to a ‘lesser’ UEFA competition.

It’ll be interesting to see whether this results in more club owners ‘taking the hit’ of one club playing in a lesser UEFA competition in order to retain their existing ownership model, rather than restructuring to allow both clubs to compete in the same competition (previously, owners have tended to make the necessary structural changes to allow both clubs to compete in Europe). Given the financial boost which Champions League football provides, one would have thought that multi-club ownership groups will continue to do everything possible to ensure both clubs can compete in the Champions League.

All of this should of course also be viewed in the context of existing dissatisfaction amongst some so-called ‘feeder clubs’, whose fans would no doubt be furious if they were forced to compete in a lesser UEFA competition than that which they originally qualified for.    

Which Club is Affected?    

It is also worth noting how UEFA determines which of the two clubs would need to drop down a competition. Firstly, they will look at where the two clubs finished in their respective domestic leagues, and if they finished in the same position, they would then look at which national association is ranked higher.

So, in Manchester City’s case, there is a risk of being ‘demoted’ to the Europa League for the 2024/25 season if, for example, Girona finish second and Manchester City finish third. However, if such a situation did occur, City Football Group may instead decide to re-structure their business model in order to comply with UEFA’s regulations. It would not be surprising if contingency plans are already being put in place.

A Look Ahead

The new formats for the UEFA club competitions from the 2024/25 season onwards have enabled UEFA to relax its rules on multi-club ownership across the European football landscape; a move which will no doubt please clubs which currently operate as part of a multi-club model.

However, it’ll be fascinating to see just how far UEFA are willing to bend. With increasing pressure from wealthy ownership groups, and the multi-club ownership trend showing no signs of slowing down, might we ever see two commonly-owned clubs competing in the same UEFA club competition?