Lucerne, December 1:

UEFA is opening up the Champions League to more clubs from smaller countries and moving the annual showcase final to a Saturday.

In a number of changes to the competition approved on Friday, UEFA also said three English, Italian and Spanish clubs will qualify automatically for the Champions League starting in 2009. Under the current format, only the top two teams from the English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A and Spain’s La Liga are guaranteed a spot in the group stage. Also the season’s final in 2010 will then be held on a Saturday for the first time, instead of its traditional Wednesday date.

UEFA’s executive committee said six of the 32 places in the group stage would be reserved for champions from Europe’s less competitive leagues, to bring more countries into the continent’s top club competition. President Michel Platini vowed to protect the interests of smaller nations when he was elected to lead UEFA this year.

Third-place and fourth-place clubs from the big three countries have been almost assured of a qualifying place because they usually had to play teams from weaker countries. As of 2009, however, the fourth-placed team will be pitted against second-placed teams from stronger countries such as the Netherlands or Portugal.

The UEFA Cup was also overhauled to have 48 spots in the group phase, up from the current format of 40. The tournament will now have twelve groups of four teams, where the top two in each group move on to the knockout rounds.