Uefa confirms 'Europa League 2' tournament from 2021

As from 2021, a third European club competition with the working title 'Europa League 2' will be introduced.

An English team will enter the play-offs of the new tournament, while Scottish clubs may miss out on Europa League places in a reshuffle.

As part of Uefa's 2021-2024 cycle, the famous Europa League will be halved in size to 32 teams and an extra play-off round between the group stage and last 16.

The 'Europa League 2' will be played on Thursdays alongside the Europa League.

Every country's champions will still play in the Champions League, but teams from the 15 top-ranked countries will go into the Europa League group stages or qualifiers.

That implies clubs from leagues below that level, which at the moment would include Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, excluding their champions - would go straight into 'UEL2' qualifying rounds.

The Europa League and new competition will have the same format - four teams in eight groups with the winners going into the last 16. 

A play-off will take place before that round for the teams who finish second in the group and clubs who finish third in the groups of the higher tournament. 

The winners of the tournament will automatically qualify for the following season's Europa League. However, the Champions League format does not change.

Aleksander Ceferin, the Uefa president said: "The new competition makes Uefa's club competitions more inclusive than ever before. There will be more matches for more clubs, with more associations represented in the group stages.”

"This competition was born out of ongoing dialogue with clubs through the European Club Association."

At least 34 countries will be represented in a group stage, compared to 26 at the moment