Future Heineken Format
Posted: Fri May 19, 2023 4:04 pm
Plans to overhaul the format of the Heineken Champions Cup – including a return to pool-stage qualification – will be rubber-stamped by the tournament's board of directors ahead of Saturday’s final between Leinster and La Rochelle in Dublin, Telegraph Sport can reveal.
The move comes following widespread criticism from players, coaches and supporters that the current format involving two 12-team conferences was too complicated and the lack of clarity in the narrative was undermining the status and credibility of the competition.
It is understood that the new format will include 24 teams competing in four pools of six, and with the opening two rounds taking place in December. Each pool will comprise two clubs from each of the three competing leagues – the Premiership, United Rugby Championship and Top 14, drawn on a ranking basis.
Clubs from the same league in each pool will not play against each other, resulting in four pool matches, with the third and fourth rounds to take place next January. The top four clubs from each pool will then qualify for the round of 16, in straight knockout matches to be staged in April next year.
The four clubs who do not qualify will drop down into a revamped Challenge Cup tournament, which will feature a qualifying stage of three pools of eight clubs, with the top four clubs from each pool qualifying for the round of 16.
The revamp of the second-tier tournament is an attempt to ensure it mirrors the Champions Cup in terms of the knockout stages as part of a bid to improve its status within the European game.
Number of teams could be reduced to 18
It is understood that the revised format will only be in place for next season because of the disruption caused to the domestic fixture list by the World Cup in France in September and November.
Discussions are continuing about how to make further tweaks to the format, with a proposal to reduce the number of clubs in the Championship Cup to 18 for the start of the 2024-25 season currently under strong consideration.
One of the key points yet to be agreed is how many clubs each league would provide if it was reduced from 24 clubs. The Premiership, which is expected to be reduced to a 10-club league by then, are being challenged to justify an equal three-way split given that the URC currently has 16 clubs while there are 14 clubs in France’s top flight.
There is a strong desire within European Professional Club Rugby to drive meritocracy ahead of regional representation in the rebranded Champions Cup. It is hoped that once the format is agreed for the 2024-25 season, it will remain in place for at least five years to allow the competition to cement its place and develop within a settled fixture schedule.
The drive for change comes after stakeholders were concerned that the move away from the previous qualifying format of five pools of four clubs, with six games played on a home and away basis, two seasons ago has had a detrimental impact on financial revenues Finals could be staged in America
The format was first changed in the 2020/21 season as a response to the impact of the Covid pandemic but retained for this year.
EPCR chairman Dom McKay said on Thursday the organisation is also weighing up whether to take future Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals to the United States of America.
With Tottenham hosting next year, they have received bids from 23 potential host venues across 12 countries for 2025 and 2026 and could bring a showpiece match across the Atlantic as a tie-in with the 2031 World Cup.
The move comes following widespread criticism from players, coaches and supporters that the current format involving two 12-team conferences was too complicated and the lack of clarity in the narrative was undermining the status and credibility of the competition.
It is understood that the new format will include 24 teams competing in four pools of six, and with the opening two rounds taking place in December. Each pool will comprise two clubs from each of the three competing leagues – the Premiership, United Rugby Championship and Top 14, drawn on a ranking basis.
Clubs from the same league in each pool will not play against each other, resulting in four pool matches, with the third and fourth rounds to take place next January. The top four clubs from each pool will then qualify for the round of 16, in straight knockout matches to be staged in April next year.
The four clubs who do not qualify will drop down into a revamped Challenge Cup tournament, which will feature a qualifying stage of three pools of eight clubs, with the top four clubs from each pool qualifying for the round of 16.
The revamp of the second-tier tournament is an attempt to ensure it mirrors the Champions Cup in terms of the knockout stages as part of a bid to improve its status within the European game.
Number of teams could be reduced to 18
It is understood that the revised format will only be in place for next season because of the disruption caused to the domestic fixture list by the World Cup in France in September and November.
Discussions are continuing about how to make further tweaks to the format, with a proposal to reduce the number of clubs in the Championship Cup to 18 for the start of the 2024-25 season currently under strong consideration.
One of the key points yet to be agreed is how many clubs each league would provide if it was reduced from 24 clubs. The Premiership, which is expected to be reduced to a 10-club league by then, are being challenged to justify an equal three-way split given that the URC currently has 16 clubs while there are 14 clubs in France’s top flight.
There is a strong desire within European Professional Club Rugby to drive meritocracy ahead of regional representation in the rebranded Champions Cup. It is hoped that once the format is agreed for the 2024-25 season, it will remain in place for at least five years to allow the competition to cement its place and develop within a settled fixture schedule.
The drive for change comes after stakeholders were concerned that the move away from the previous qualifying format of five pools of four clubs, with six games played on a home and away basis, two seasons ago has had a detrimental impact on financial revenues Finals could be staged in America
The format was first changed in the 2020/21 season as a response to the impact of the Covid pandemic but retained for this year.
EPCR chairman Dom McKay said on Thursday the organisation is also weighing up whether to take future Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals to the United States of America.
With Tottenham hosting next year, they have received bids from 23 potential host venues across 12 countries for 2025 and 2026 and could bring a showpiece match across the Atlantic as a tie-in with the 2031 World Cup.
