The new-look UEFA Champions League draw takes place today at 5pm, and the 2024/25 edition will follow a new format.
The changes, what will stay the same, what it means for fans, and how it impacts UEFA’s other club competitions will be revealed in this post.
How will the Champions League format change from 2024/25?
The pivotal change in the reforms announced by the UEFA Executive Committee is the departure from the current format’s group stage system.
The present Champions League group stage includes 32 participants divided into eight groups of four. From the 2024/25 season, 36 clubs will participate in the Champions League league phase (former group stage), giving four more sides the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe.
Under the new format, teams will play eight matches in the new league phase (former group stage). They will no longer play three opponents twice – home and away – but will instead face fixtures against eight different teams, playing half of those matches at home and half of them away.
To determine the eight different opponents, the teams will initially be ranked in four seeding pots. Each team will then be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
This gives the opportunity for clubs to test themselves against a wider range of opponents and raises the prospect for fans of seeing the top teams go head to head more often and earlier in the competition. It will also result in more competitive matches for every club across the board.
The results of each match will decide the overall ranking in the new league, with three points for a win and one for a draw still applying.
The top eight teams in the league will qualify automatically for the Round of 16, while the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the last 16 of the competition.
Teams ranked 25-36 are eliminated from all competitions. Unlike before where third place teams drop to the Europa League.
From the round of 16 onwards, the competition will continue to follow its existing format of knockout rounds leading to the final staged at a neutral venue selected by UEFA.
The new format will increase the total number of matches in the Champions League from 125 to 189. And the league phase will now be completed at the end of January instead of during December.
Who is in the draw? What are the pots?
Pot 1: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan.
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg, Lille, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys, Celtic.
Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava, Monaco, Sparta Prague, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest.
Will the Europa League and Europa Conference League formats change from 2024/25 too?
Yes. Similar format changes will also be applied to the UEFA Europa League (eight matches and therefore eight different opponents in the league phase) and UEFA Europa Conference League, which will be called the UEFA Conference League as of 2024/25 (six matches and therefore six different opponents in the league phase), with both competitions also featuring 36 teams in the league phase.
Exclusive match week
Each of the three UEFA club competitions will have one exclusive matchweek, with the other two competitions not being scheduled in this week.
In the Champions League exclusive week, Champions League matches will be played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
In the Europa League exclusive week, Europa League matches will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.
In the Europa Conference League exclusive week, Europa Conference League matches will take place on Thursday.
How will the new format benefit 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 to see those matches take place earlier in the competition.
- The new format will introduce a better competitive balance between all the teams, with the possibility for each team to play opponents of a similar competitive level throughout the league phase.
- Every game counts. The new league format will ensure that any result has the potential to dramatically change a team’s position, right up to and including the very last matchday. Winning or losing the last game of the league phase could make the difference between a side qualifying automatically for the last 16, entering the play-offs or being eliminated from the competition altogether.
2 Comments
Weldone, goalgetter…!
What a nice explanation and simplification. Excellent write up. Thanks