The FA Cup winners may be rewarded with a place in the Champions League from 2009 under sweeping changes suggested for Europe's elite club competition. The proposal, mooted at Uefa's European Club forum, could see the winner of each country's main knockout tournament included in a new end-of-season playoff system or even granted an automatic Champions League berth."A number of clubs have expressed an interest in this situation," said William Gaillard, Uefa's communications director. "We are not against it in principle and if this is the view of the majority there is no reason why we shouldn't do it. The clubs that we have heard from have responded quite favourably."
Gaillard said that although discussions had so far been informal, interest had been strongest from "a very large German club, a Spanish club and a very large Scottish club", believed to be Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Rangers respectively. A Football Association spokesman said the proposals would be considered by Soho Square but any changes to the allocation of Champions League places would depend on discussions with English football's relevant stakeholders.
Uefa's proposal has been influenced by a belief that the top domestic cup competitions are in need of rejuvenation and that winning a trophy such as the FA Cup is a greater achievement than finishing in the final Champions League position.
Gaillard confirmed that the idea would be put to Uefa's new strategic committee in June, which in turn would make direct recommendations to the executive committee. An official from the Premier League was of the opinion that the proposal would attract little interest from Premiership clubs, and the Football League was unavailable to comment.
This month Michel Platini, who was elected Uefa president with a pledge to reduce the maximum number of Champions League entrants from a single country from four to three, suggested that the fourth-placed teams in Europe's bigger leagues could perhaps face one another in end-of-season play-offs and so free up places which smaller countries would be able to take up.
Platini, meanwhile, expects to unveil plans to give supporters an official say in running the European game by the end of this year. He will hold meetings with supporters' clubs and associations with a view to giving them a seat on the strategic board. "Platini is a firm believer that there is no soccer without the fans," added Gaillard. "We are the producers and they are our consumers."
Platini wanted to see smaller clubs in the CL anyway... 