How will the 2024/25 Champions League be played? This is the new format

What is the main change in the 2024/25 Champions League?

The fundamental change of the reforms announced by the UEFA Executive Committee is the abandonment of the group stage of the current format.

The current Champions League season includes 32 participants divided into eight groups of four. Starting with the 2024/25 season, The 36 participating clubs will compete in a league phase of the Champions League (the old group phase) to give four more teams the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe. These 36 teams will participate in a single league competition in which they will all compete in a common classification.

With the new format, teams will play eight games in the new league phase (old group phase). They will no longer play three rivals twice (home and away), but instead will face eight different teams, playing half of them at home and the other half away. To determine the eight rivals, the teams will initially be divided into four pots. Each team will then face two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against one team from each pot at home and one away.

This will give clubs the opportunity to face a greater number of rivals and increases fans' chances of seeing the best teams face each other more often in the early stages of the competition. It will also lead to more competitive matches for all clubs.

How will the four additional places in the group stage of the 2024/25 Champions League be allocated?

Qualification for the Champions League will remain open and will depend on the final position of the clubs in the domestic competitions of the previous season combined with the position of each association in the club coefficient classification by association. The base of the access list will remain the same as for the current season, and the four additional places available in 2024/25 will be allocated as follows:

First place: This place will go to the club ranked third in the federation championship in fifth position on the access list, which is determined by the club coefficient ranking by UEFA federations.

Second place: This place is awarded to the national champion, expanding from four to five the number of clubs classified via the champions route of the competition's qualification process, which will consist of four qualifying rounds.

Third and fourth place– These places will go to the associations with the best collective performance of their clubs in the previous season (i.e. the club coefficient by association of the previous season, which is based on the total number of club coefficient points obtained for each club in a federation divided by the number of participating clubs in that federation). Each of these two federations will award an automatic place in the league phase ('European Performance Place') to the highest ranked club in its national league behind the clubs that have already qualified directly for the league phase.

How will the teams reach the round of 16 of the Champions League and how will the format of the knockout phase change?

The top eight teams will automatically advance to the round of 16, while the teams ranked between 9th and 24th will compete in a two-legged play-off tie to secure a place in the round of 16 of the competition. Teams that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated, without access to the UEFA Europa League.

The new format, with all teams qualified together in a single league, will mean there is more to play for until the final night of the league stage.

In the knockout play-off phase, The teams classified between 9th and 16th place will be seeded in the draw, which means that they will face a team located between 17th and 24th place with, in principle, the return leg at home. The eight clubs that win in these qualifying rounds They will go to the round of 16where they will face one of the top eight finishers, who will be seeded in the round of 16.

To reinforce the synergy between the league phase and the knockout phase, and to provide a greater sporting incentive during the league phase, the knockout phase pairings will also be determined in part by the league phase classification, with a draw that will also will determine and chart the teams' path to the final.

From the round of 16 onwards, the competition follows the current format of the knockout round leading up to a final at a neutral venue selected by UEFA.

All matches leading up to the final will continue to be played midweek, recognizing the importance of the national match schedule across Europe, while the final will continue to be played on Saturday.

Will the formats of the Europa League and Europa Conference League from 2024/25 also change?

Yes. Similar format changes will also apply to the UEFA Europa League (eight matches and therefore eight different opponents in the league stage) and the UEFA Europa Conference League, which will be renamed the UEFA Conference League from the 2024 season. /25 (six games and, therefore, six different opponents in the league phase). Both competitions will also have 36 teams in the league phase.

How will the calendar look with the new format of the three competitions?

The parties of the < strong>Champions League and of the Europa League will be disputed between September and Januarywhile those of the Europa Conference League will be played between September and December. Each of the three UEFA club competitions will have an exclusive week of matchessince the other two competitions will not be scheduled that week.

In normal weeks, Champions League matches will be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while Europa League and Europa Conference League matches will be played on Thursdays. In the exclusive Champions League week, Champions League matches will be played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. In the exclusive Europa League week, Europa League matches will be played on Wednesday and Thursday. In the exclusive week of the Europa Conference League, the Europa Conference League matches will be played on Thursday.

On the last day of each of the league phases of the competitions, all matches will be played simultaneously.

What benefits does the new Champions League format have for fans?

The new league format will involve more European teams in each competition and will allow fans to not only see more top European matches, but also for those matches to be held earlier in the competition.

The new format will introduce a greater competitive balance between all the teams, with the possibility of each of them facing rivals of a similar competitive level throughout the league phase.

Every game counts. The new league format will ensure that every result has the potential to radically change the team's position right up to the final matchday. Winning or losing the last match of the league phase can make the difference between a team qualifying directly for the round of 16, entering the play-offs, or being eliminated from the tournament permanently.