Europa League winners to get Champions League spot

The Europa League was boosted on Friday by UEFA’s announcement that the winners would qualify for the elite competition from 2015.

In an attempt to increase the prestige of its secondary competition, UEFA also said 16 teams rather than the current six would qualify directly for the group stages.

"I have thought about this for a long time, and I am delighted we are upgrading the Europa League," UEFA president Michel Platini told a news conference after the annual Congress of European soccer’s governing body in London.

The Europa League winners will enter at the playoff stage but could even gain direct access to the group stage if the Champions League winners also qualify via their domestic league position, thus freeing up a place in the group stage.

UEFA has also ruled that a maximum of five teams from any one country would be able to compete in the Champions League from 2015-16.

This means in the unlikely event of the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League coming from the same country but finishing outside the top four, the team who finished fourth in their domestic league would not take part in the Champions League but go into the Europa League instead.

Also, if the Europa League winners had qualified for the following season’s Champions League through their domestic league position, the Europa League runners-up would not get a Champions League berth.