European Leagues chief Lars-Christer Olsson has called on UEFA not to hand any new Champions League qualification spots to the top five European associations.

Plans to reform Europe’s top competition from 2024 will allow three more teams to qualify for the group stage automatically. Olsson feels the places should be taken up by clubs from smaller nations, such as Scotland, rather than from England, Italy, Spain, Germany or France:

“We think the three extra positions should be allocated in a way that more associations can be represented in the Champions League. It must not be given to one of the ‘Big five’ associations. We are also of the opinion that the so-called country cap of the Champions League should stay at maximum five teams from the same association. We actually prefer champions from Scotland, Denmark or Switzerland to qualify – rather than team number six from England or Spain.”

At the moment, Scotland has two Champions League places, thanks to Celtic and Rangers’ recent success in the Europa League, but they will have to go through the qualifying rounds in order to get to the group phase.

UEFA have yet to finalise their reforms, but reports suggest that the “Swiss Model” will be used with one group of 32 teams, with points being gained from ten matches. The changes are designed to increase revenue with more European games being played every season.