EFL chairman Rick Parry fears the new format for the Champions League could have dramatic consequences for Bristol City, Bristol Rovers and clubs across the Championship, League One and League Two.
UEFA has agreed a new structure for the tournament, with the group stage expanded to from six games to eight, spread across 10 dates. Parry expects the new setup will have a damaging impact on the League Cup, which generates £100million in revenue from TV money and gate receipts across the EFL.
UEFA's reforms, which come into effect in 2024, initially proposed 10 group-stage games before reducing the schedule to eight, but in an interview with The Times Parry described this as a "smokescreen".
He said: "In terms of the impact on midweek fixtures, FA Cup and Carabao Cup (League Cup), in true Uefa fashion we’ve still got the same number of match dates,” he says. “Only eight games, but spread across ten dates, so that really doesn’t help us.
"Of course it’s going to have an impact on the Carabao Cup. It’s pointless to pretend that it won’t.
"To suggest that we will carry on without any form of change is unrealistic. Equally, to say this is now the demise of the League Cup is too far in the other direction at this stage. Could it be an outcome? Yes, of course it could.
"Frankly, we have to maybe face up to the unpalatable, but it’s extraordinarily valuable to the EFL. It’s pretty much half of our media revenues and so you are talking about £100m worth of our clubs’ TV revenue and gate receipts. It’s a very valuable part of the mix.
"This year we’ve had a breath-taking final with a competition taken extremely seriously by two of Europe’s biggest clubs, which was brilliant from our point of view. But we also know that Uefa doesn’t like League Cups. We are now unique."
Neither of Bristol's clubs have reached the League Cup final since its inception in 1960/61, but City did enjoy a memorable run to the semi-finals in 2017/18, beating Manchester United in the quarter-finals before losing a hard-fought two-legged tie against Manchester City. The Robins also made the last four in 1988/89 before losing to Nottingham Forest. Rovers reached the quarter-finals in 1971/72 before losing to Stoke City.
