Ajax reached the semi-final last season but are not guaranteed a spot in next season’s group stage

Aleksander Ceferin, the Uefa president, has revealed that the idea of “protecting” teams who reach the latter stages of the Champions League by ensuring they qualify for the following season’s tournament is among the reforms being considered for the competition.

Ceferin, speaking in an interview at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon, also disclosed that Uefa is in advanced talks with the South Americans for a “champion of champions” match next year between the winner of Euro 2020 and the winner of the Copa America.

Uefa is consulting on reforms of the Champions League, its elite club competition, and the Slovenian lawyer said one of the proposals was to ensure qualification for those clubs such as Ajax who reached the semi-finals but have no guarantee of playing