Monaco (AFP) – The top four leagues in Europe will be guaranteed four places in the group stage of the Champions League from the 2018/19 season, UEFA confirmed on Friday.

The changes affect the top four domestic leagues in UEFA’s ranking, which are currently Spain’s Primera Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga, England’s Premier League and Italy’s Serie A, and will initially run until 2021.

At the moment, only the three leading leagues are guaranteed three places in the group phase, with a fourth team entering in the play-off round.