European football clubs were told on Monday the UEFA Cup will be rebranded to revive its fortunes and earn them more money.
The competition has suffered in the shadow of the lucrative Champions League, which gives teams global exposure and huge television revenues.
While Manchester United earned 43 million euros (US$67 million) for winning the 2008 Champions League, clubs who played in the UEFA Cup's 40-team group phase and subsequent knockout rounds shared just 37 million euros.
"We always had the impression the UEFA Cup was a second-class competition," said Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, announcing the plans as chairman of the new European Club Association. "The money achieved in that competition has to be increased to make it more interesting for participating clubs."
Rummenigge said it could be renamed the UEFA Europa League and marketed more heavily for the 2009-10 season.
The UEFA Cup was last renamed in 1971 when it was a well-regarded competition for clubs who just missed out on the championship in their national leagues. But its status has suffered in the last decade as the Champions League expanded to accept teams finishing as low as fourth in its league and reward them with payouts of millions of euros.
"We have to come back to how it was 15-20 years ago when it was more important than it is today," said Rummenigge, whose club Bayern Munich reached the UEFA Cup semifinals last season but earned just 4.5 million euros.
AC Milan finished fifth in Italy's Serie A and will play in the UEFA Cup this year.
Milan director Umberto Gandini said the loss of money was a problem for the club. "We know that it is going to be financially difficult for the club because there is a huge gap between the revenues available."
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily July 9, 2008)