Gerard Piqué working on new 'elite' football competition
According to El Larguero, the Barcelona player is in the early stages of discussion about a football tournament in the style of his new tennis Davis Cup.
After his breakthrough in the world of tennis with the new Davis Cup, Gerard Piqué also has ideas about to revitalise the competitive landscape of continental football. According to Adrià Albets on Spanish programme El Larguero, the Barça defender plans to launch a new European club competition in the "not too distant future" with a similar format to the tennis tournament.
Piqué's 'Davis Cup' of football
Based on the report, Piqué's concept is to gather the champions of the main European leagues, along with other major teams from the continent, in one tournament. Although only an idea at the moment, El Larguero states that the Spaniard has already met with representatives from the Spanish Football Federation to enquire about the viability of his project, but further details of the outcome of these discussions were not forthcoming.
The new tennis format
Kosmos Global Holding SL, a company founded by Piqué along with friends such as Hiroshi Miktani, president of Rakuten, entered the world of sports with the mission of reforming the Davis Cup.
Now, this tournament consists of eighteen teams divided into six groups of three, playing in a mini-league format. The top side and the best two runners-up go into the quarter-finals and from there to the final. Another big change brought in by the group was the location of the games, which now takes place in a single venue, and over a week.