At this point, you’ve probably heard about the changes made to Europe’s most prestigious club football competition, the UEFA Champions League. A significant shift from the former group stage system everyone’s familiar with to a new and potentially more exciting league phase system, which takes effect from the 2024/25 football season. However, the big question is, How does the new Champions League format work?
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Formerly known as the European Champions Club Cup, it has been one of the most beloved sport competitions since its inception in 1955 and has since transformed over the years into an annual tradition around the globe. Over the years, the competition witnessed significant changes; an example of such is its current name (UEFA Champions League), which took effect in 1992; the addition of the group stage in 1991; and the entrant of multiple teams from certain countries between 1997 and 1998. In view of this, the competition has always been at the forefront of ushering soccer fans into the next phase of the game. However, its administrative body, UEFA, announced a change in the format of the competition, from the traditional group stage system to the new league phase system, which has started a lot of conversation amongst fans and stakeholders alike.
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How will the UEFA Champions League format change from 2024 to 2025?
The League Phase
The new Champions League table format will see all teams ranked in a single league. 36 teams instead of 32 will participate in the league phase (formerly known as group stage), giving more club sides the opportunity to compete against Europe’s best. They will compete in a single-league competition in which all 36 teams are ranked together. Each team will play against eight different teams, four games at home and four away. Like a typical league, the results of each match will decide the ranking, with three points for a win and one for a draw still applying. The top 8 sides (teams ranked from 1st to 8th after the eight games) automatically qualify for the round of 16 (second round). It’s also worthy to mention that the last matches at this phase will all be played simultaneously.
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Those that end up between 9th and 24th position (16 teams) will compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to decide which teams qualify for the remaining eight slots in the round of 16. In clearer terms, teams from 9th to 16th position will go against 17th to 24th. Teams who have met once, previously in the competition at say club A’s home ground, will then play the knockout at club B’s home ground. Then, those that end up at 25th or lower, that is, 33rd to 36th (the last 4 teams after the first eight matches), will be eliminated, with no access to the UEFA Europa League. An additional four teams implies more diverse matchups to increase the competitiveness of the tournament. The six games added with two extra matches make it eight matches in total. This will see teams play against a wide range of very different teams from various European countries. That’s not all; there’s also the possibility of top teams getting drafted against each other at the league phase or earlier in the competition, which raises the stakes even higher.
New knockout Phase & Beyond
Remember in the former format, when a team tops their group in the group stage, they are likely to be drafted against the second qualifying team of another group in the second round. Same thing applies. To provide more incentive for winning during the league phase, the pairings of the knockout phase during the draw will be heavily influenced by the league phase rankings (meaning the top eight sides at the league phase are likely to face a lesser competition at the knockout phase). From round 16 onwards, the competition continues with the existing format of knockout rounds, all the way to the finals in Munich, 2025.
Qualification for the Champions League will continue to be open and based on a club’s final position in the previous domestic league competition. However, the additional 4 slots available will be allocated based on the UEFA association club coefficient ranking.
What about calendars?
All games before the final will continue to be played in midweek, while the final will continue to be played on a Saturday.
The Champions League and Europa League matches are scheduled to take place from September to January 2025, while Europa League matches will be played between September and December 2024. A 1-week exclusive match week has been assigned to each of the UEFA competitions, with the other two competitions not being scheduled in the same week, unlike the previous format.
For Champions League exclusive week, matches will be played on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays, while in Europa League exclusive week, matches will be played Wednesday and Thursdays. Finally, Europa Conference League exclusive week matches will only take place on Thursdays.
The new UEFA League format promises to reshape European club football competition by creating more variety and excitement right from its early stages, and throughout the tournaments. By increasing the number of guaranteed matches and incorporating a league-style phase, the body aims to enhance competitiveness amongst teams, while maintaining the prestige of the tournament. This new format offers more opportunities for teams to progress in a system that rewards consistent performances over several matches. Football fans around the world are looking forward to seeing how this impacts both top and emerging clubs across Europe.
Source: UEFA.com
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