UEFA Champions League revenues, performance and participation 2003-04 to 2016-17

The UEFA Champions League revenues continue to grow (€1.3bn in 2016-17), although previous studies have highlighted a competitive imbalance in the competition, and in the leagues supplying teams. UEFA plans to increase the allocation of automatic qualifying places to 16 for the top four ranked leagues for 2018-19, and alter the financial distribution model. This paper analyses the representation, performance and revenue distribution by club and UEFA member associations from 2003-04 to 2016-17 with reference to the quota changes and future direction. UEFAs priorities are split, between meeting their core principles of governing 55 member nations, and commercial expectations from leading clubs. The findings demonstrate that the current structure offers clubs from England, Germany, Italy and Spain the most representation, revenue, and their clubs have the strongest performance. The financial benefits of this enhanced access are vast. These clubs received €6.61bn (61%) of all revenue, with sixteen clubs receiving €5.6bn (52%) overall. The market pool element of the distribution model is where the most differences lie, calculated by UEFA. Discussions include the benefits and issues with the quota changes around representation, revenue and performance, with reference to UEFAs aim to offer "fair competition" and "fair distribution" in the future.