English Premier League clubs risk losing a place in the Champions League next season if they fail to perform in this season’s competition.
The Premier League is lauded as the best league in the world, but this is not supported by the records of the national team or clubs on the European stage.
European football’s governing body EUFA has told the best premier League clubs that they must do better.
To back their warning, EUFA has issued a table of top performing countries and explained how scoring for the rating system works.
The ratings cover five years, and although the statistics show English teams reached two finals, three semi-finals and six quarter finals in the Champions League and Europa Cup in that time, almost half of these placings were in 2010-11.
The EUFA ratings
Next season, that year drops off ratings, leaving the Premier League with one final, semi and quarter final in 2011-12 and one semi and two quarter finals in 2013-14.
The others years are blank.
The best performing leagues, says EUFA are:
- Spain – grabbing 86.427 qualifying points
- Germany – scoring 68.177
- England – totalling 65.659
- Italy – Close behind with 61.605
Last season, Italian team Juventus reached the EUFA Champions League final, while Napoli and Fiorentina challenged in the Europa League semi-finals.
No English team reached the quarter final stage.
This year, English teams are also performing poorly in European competitions, which could mean if Italy repeat the feat of last year, the country could overtake England in the rankings.
That will put the extra EUFA Champions League place given to an English team in jeopardy.
Unrealistic fan expectations
“Three English teams losing their first group matches in the EUFA Champions League and Europa League has given the Italian league new hope of that extra place in the EUFA Champions League,” said a EUFA spokesman.
More widely, the expectations of English fans for their national and league sides as favourites to win competitions are challenged by the rankings.
Recently, the England national team lost standing in a similar FIFA world ranking.
The side dropped two places to 10th behind top 10 newcomers Romania and Wales.
England are ranked 6th in Europe.
The Premier League is hailed as the best league in the world by many pundits, but part of the reason is big wages funded by TV rights attracting top class foreign players, which means less places in the top teams for English players to gain match experience.
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