MANCHESTER: Europe's leading clubs are making a late push for greater control over the business and running of the Champions League in return for backing UEFA's reforms of the competition.
But the European Clubs Association , which represents 246 European clubs and is led by Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, now say they want to address the governance structure for the competition before signing off on the deal. It was created following the signing of a five year agreement between UEFA and the ECA in 2018 - a deal which will run out before the proposed new Champions League format begins.
"The Executive Board believes that if European football is to meet the challenges it currently faces, the foundations for ECA and UEFA's future relationship also need to be given due consideration at the same time," said the ECA, who said their stance was backed by clubs at all levels of their membership.
Woodward said he expected the final UEFA deal to include"a greater involvement of clubs in the governance and control of the competitions".
A further move to reward big money clubs who can spend on bigger squads, but make it even more difficult for the lower teams to compete.