NYON, Switzerland — UEFA President Michel Platini says the football body could consider scrapping the Europa League and expanding the more popular Champions League. Platini has told French daily Ouest-France that UEFA is having an “ongoing debate” about possible changes to its competitions for the 2015-18 cycle of broadcasting contracts. Platini said: “We're discussing it. We will make a decision in 2014.” One of the options being looked at is the possibility of extending the final phase of the Champions League from 32 to 64 teams. The Europa earns one-sixth of the Champions League's €1.34 billion ($1.73 billion) annual revenue, which is mostly shared by 32 clubs which reach the group stage. The Europa League's longer and more complicated format has also proved unpopular with some clubs and fans. However, scrapping it in favor of a 64-team Champions League would likely be opposed by European Club Association members whom UEFA is obliged to consult on competition changes. World football paying price vof Brazil's 1982 defeat: Zico Brazil's stunning 3-2 defeat to Italy at the 1982 World Cup was one of the sport's most memorable matches but former midfielder Zico believes it had a negative impact on world soccer that is still being felt today. Brazil had delighted the world with its adventurous, flowing football until the fateful day at Barcelona's Sarria stadium when a Paolo Rossi hat trick, scored with the aid of a blunder-prone Brazil defense, knocked it out before the knockout stage. Needing only a draw to qualify, Brazil nevertheless went for all-out attack and Zico said its failure to win the trophy meant its style of play was subsequently viewed as obsolete. “Brazil had a fantastic team, recognized around the world, and everywhere we go people remind us about that team in 1982,” Zico told the Soccerex conference. “If we had won that game, football would have been different. Instead, we started to create football based on getting the result at whatever cost, football based on breaking up the opposition's move, and based on fouling the opposition. “That defeat for Brazil was not beneficial for world football. “If we had scored five goals that day, Italy would have scored six as they always found a way of capitalizing on our mistakes.” The consequences were especially far-reaching in Brazil, whose two World Cup wins since have been achieved in a more efficient, less flamboyant manner. Brazil's former coach Mano Menezes said earlier this year that Spain, rather than the five-time world champion, had become the new benchmark in international football. Zico said Brazilian teams had become more interested in physical strength and doubted that he would be able to make it as a professional in the current game. “Brazil is a fertile land for players but we have to change the mentality in the junior divisions of the clubs,” he said. “I'm sure that I went for a trial at a football club today, I would be rejected for being thin and small.” — Agencies
