Peter Lawwell sends Celtic message at 'important' UEFA meeting as he rubs shoulders with Arsenal and Dortmund

Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell has been busy attending an important UEFA meeting as the Hoops prepare for a new-look Champions League campaign of next.

The Champions League will change next season to include four extra teams, made up of two new qualifiers from the play-offs and two extra teams from the two direct new qualifiers European leagues with the best performance in the European competitions in the previous year.

Having dominated domestically, the aim for Brendan Rodgers and his men will now be to push on and attempt to compete at a higher level in the Champions League after struggling to progress in the competition over recent years. The changes to the competition mean Celtic and their European rivals will get increased revenue due to an overall increase of 21% in UEFA television revenue.

To discuss such changes and other financial factors, Celtic chairman Lawwell has met with UEFA chiefs and representatives from other clubs in Lisbon. Reps from some of Europe’s elite including Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund were also in attendance. He said, with a message on Lisbon’s importance to Celtic through winning the 1967 European Cup in the city, after the meeting: “ECA is the only club association recognized by FIFA and UEFA and we have a very important role as the heart of European football.

“We have a very large network of contacts and we work on behalf of the clubs. We are getting bigger and bigger, already with 657 members representing the majority of clubs in Europe’s top divisions. We are very proud of this and we had a very interesting meeting. The hospitality has been exceptional. Lisbon is very special for Celtic FC as is Sporting CP, since we have the same colours and a good relationship with the Board of Directors.”

Michael Verschueren, chair of the financial working group has said of the meetings: “Our working group is very important, as money is increasingly important in football. Revenues are increasing and everything related to regulation, distribution of money and the financial impact of regulations is dealt with in this group of work.

“We work throughout the year with many meetings and negotiations with interested parties, be it FIFA or UEFA. The people in this working group are experts and work with finances every day. We think about different topics and projects and in these meetings we consolidate everything that is being worked on and decided.”

The changes to the Champions League were voted upon back in 2022 after it was decided that changes needed to be made one year earlier. UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin said of the changes: “UEFA has clearly shown that we are fully committed to respecting the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principle of open competitions, with qualification based on sporting merit, fully in line with the values and solidarity-based European sports model.

“I am really pleased that it was a unanimous decision of the UEFA Executive Committee, with the European Club Association, European Leagues and national associations all agreeing with the proposal made. Another proof that European football is more united than ever."