European football's governing body has spoken out following a report in the German press which stated that plans for a European super league were already at an advanced stage
Uefa has denied claims that plans for a European Super League are at an advanced stage by stating there are still "no concrete proposals on the table".
A report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung publication suggested that Uefa would install a Super League over and above the current Champions League and Europa League competitions.
Selection criteria for the new league would be based not only on sporting considerations but also on attractiveness of potential participants as well as their marketing importance. The report claimed that the new competition would not be closed off to only the most profitable clubs.
Uefa's current Clubs Competition Cycle began this season and will run until the end of the 2017-18 season. A decision on the future of continental football beyond that date is expected by the end of this year.
"Uefa constantly reviews the format of its competitions and invites stakeholders, including member associations, to share their ideas in a consultative process," a Uefa spokesperson told Goal. "There are no concrete proposals on the table at this stage as we are just beginning a new three-year cycle (2015-18) for club competitions."
The fate of European club competition will largely rest with the influential European Clubs Association (ECA). It represents 220 clubs from 53 member nations and is heavily involved in discussions about the future of Uefa competition.
Last year, the ECA also signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with Uefa covering the period 2015-2022. Two ECA club representatives are due to join the Uefa Executive Committee with full voting rights at the Uefa Congress in May after initially joining with observer status last year.
The ECA is chaired by the Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge who in January stated that a new competition involving clubs from his native Germany as well as England, France, Spain and Italy could be put in place.
More recently though the ECA general secretary Michele Centenaro declared the association's interest in working with Uefa for a better Champions League and not a Super League outright.
- Goal