To the UEFA Executive Committee,

European football has experienced a historic transformation with the implementation of the “League Phase” format starting in the 2024-2025 season. However, even with this new system replacing the traditional group stages, the assumed “quality gap” between the tournaments and their participating teams is far from the conventional perception.

When we evaluate the UEFA club coefficients, which reflect the last five years of historical performance, a striking reality emerges regarding the current season. In this year’s Champions League, the broad group of 24 teams advancing to the knockout stages has an average ranking of 19. In contrast, the top 8 teams in this year’s Europa League boast a superior average ranking of 16.5. This mathematical reality proves that the elite teams of the Europa League possess a higher historical success rate and seniority than the broader advancing group in the Champions League. The massive quality gap presumed to exist between the tournaments is, in fact, an illusion.

In light of these data-driven insights, I propose the adoption of a merit-based system, known as the “Aydın Tiryaki Model,” rather than artificially dividing prestige across different trophies. This model envisions a unified “Grand Round of 32” elimination bracket, merging 24 advancing teams from the Champions League with 8 resilient teams filtered from a combined pool of the Europa and Conference Leagues. This structure ensures that no team is subjected to unfair competition and ultimately crowns the single, undisputed champion of Europe.

I present this model as a constructive proposal. Should it be implemented, I firmly believe it will create a completely new face for European football leagues, ultimately providing a massive contribution to UEFA’s prestige, brand value, and competitive structure.

I respectfully present this model and the supporting statistical evidence for your consideration, with the hope of preserving fairness, meritocracy, and the true competitive spirit of European football.

Sincerely,

Aydın Tiryaki

References:

• Aydın Tiryaki, Meritocracy in European Football and the Single Champion: The Aydın Tiryaki Model, https://aydintiryaki.org/2026/02/20/meritocracy-in-european-football-and-the-single-champion-the-aydin-tiryaki-model/ (February 20, 2026)
• Aydın Tiryaki and Gemini AI, A New Order in European Football: Do Statistics Shatter the Conventional Wisdom?, https://aydintiryaki.org/2026/02/20/a-new-order-in-european-football-do-statistics-shatter-the-conventional-wisdom/ (February 20, 2026)