The biggest teams from Spain, Italy and Germany affected by the wealth and power of the Premier League

UEFA have announced a new format for the Champions League, but Europe’s top clubs are still worried about the power wielded by the governing body.

The new Champions League format was agreed this week as a way to stop a repeat of the European Super League breakaway.

But, although the clubs have accepted the new 36-team format, it would be naive to think they are all happy – and it is highly unlikely to solve any further problems down the road.

The biggest clubs in Spain, Italy and Germany fear the Premier League will have too much wealth and power which will make the competition increasingly difficult. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are still engaged in their legal action at the European Court of Justice because they haven’t given up on the Super League and they are unhappy with UEFA having too much power.

This will likely be the next development in this saga with the ECJ ruling in the coming months on whether UEFA’s control of European football constitutes a monopoly which breaches competition law. UEFA will introduce the new Champions League from 2024.

It comes after agreeing to reduce the number of group matches from ten to eight and they also scrapped their coefficient plan in favor of two more places for nations whose teams performed best in Europe that year. However, it also continues to cause concern as it effectively rewards collective success rather than individual achievement and the Premier League has the most power, the most wealth and a growing grip on European football. If anyone thinks that this new solution for the Champions League is the end of the story, then they are very wrong.

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Go in the right direction

Liverpool and Manchester City are two of the clubs to have participated in groundbreaking research into the impact of the head in football.

The Premier League has confirmed an extensive study with players using PROTECHT mouthguards, supplied by UK sports technology company Sports & Wellbeing Analytics. Using microchips in the mouthguard, the technology can collect data on a ball’s head impact and could be crucial with Premier League, EFL and WSL clubs taking part then that they are looking for more evidence of a link between head and brain damage.

Chris Turner, chief executive of SWA, said: “Clubs are very supportive and enthusiastic about being involved in research, particularly at academy level to look after the stars of the future. “You can do a lot with data, including managing workload, training, and course. In rugby, Danny Care said using the mouthguard and its data helped him extend his career by a few more years by managing his training and less contact. It’s basically a GPS for contact in sports.

Meanwhile, Arsenal put their female boss Jonas Eidevall front and center with Mikel Arteta when they signed new deals. It was a very deliberate and admirable decision to show commitment to the women’s team as the club is investing heavily in the whole setup, they are determined to improve and develop to underline their ambitions in the WSL .