SPL Director Rubbishes UEFA Participation Rumours

Michael Emenalo, director of the Saudi Pro League (SPL), has commented on the likelihood of Saudi teams participating in the UEFA Champions League.

Since August, reports have been flying around that SPL executives were drafting a request to UEFA, in which they detailed their wish for their clubs – whose players include the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar – to participate in the Champions League alongside their European counterparts.

When asked if these reports were true during a recent interview with a British sports outlet, Emenalo outright denied them.

“I don’t know where that’s come from,” he said. “I think that’s someone taking a dreamy leap into a far-fetched future. I think our goal is to take quality baby steps and the first step is to stabilise our league, make it very entertaining for our fans and get fans across the world to pay attention to what we’re doing.

“That’s not something that I have been privy to, even as part of a discussion or a plan.”

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