The new tournament, which has been given the working title of Europa League Two, will mirror the existing Champions League and Europa League tournaments and feature 32 teams in a group stage.

It will be played on Thursdays alongside the current Europa League with eight groups of four, followed by a round of 16, quarter finals, semi-finals and final.

UEFA say its introduction will guarantee at least 34 countries will be represented in the group stage of a European club competition, as opposed to 26 in the current format.

"The new UEFA club competition makes UEFA’s club competitions more inclusive than ever before,” President Aleksander Čeferin said.

There will be more matches for more clubs, with more associations represented in the group stages. This competition was borne out of ongoing dialogue with clubs through the European Club Association.

Just like the current Europa League, the competition will feature 141 matches spread over 15 weeks.

The winner will then be entitled to play in the original Europa League the following season.

"There was a widespread demand by all clubs to increase their chances of participating more regularly in European competition,” Čeferin added.

“This has been achieved with a strategic approach, and in accordance with UEFA’s objective of having both more quality and more inclusivity in our club competitions."

The Champions League will not be affected by the changes, but the Europa League will be “streamlined” with an additional knock-out round played before the round of 16 between teams ranked second in their groups and the third-ranked teams of the Champions League groups.

A similar round will take place in the new tournament, between teams ranked second in their groups and the third-ranked teams of the Europa League groups.

Elsewhere, earlier today the qualifying draw was completed for UEFA Euro 2020.

World champions France have been drawn in Group H alongside Iceland, Turkey, Albania, Moldova and Andorra.

Croatia are in Group E with Wales, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, while Belgium, who finished third in the World Cup earlier this year, are in Group I with Russia, Scotland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan and San Marino.