Albanian teams to have more chances to play Champions League

One of the strongest points of Platini’s campaign for the UEFA throne was to help small countries to have more teams in the group stages of the UEFA and Champions League. It was probably the reason that helped Platini attract the votes of the smaller nations during the presidential elections, including Albania.
“We have to clearly define our relationships in the football family, our relations with clubs and players,” said the UEFA president. “We have created a new group stage for the Champions League where smaller countries will have more opportunities to compete. Albania is one those countries that can benefit from the new scheme.”
It is two years now that Platini works to bring to life his idea of a more pan-European Champions League, with more teams in the final phases. The Platini plan has received fierce resistance from the top European clubs who have threatened UEFA with the creation of their own European league for clubs.
On the other hand, Albanian clubs have always suffered elimination in the early qualifying stages of European competitions in the last two decades.