The 2024-25 Champions League has a new format. Photo: AFPThe Champions League will experience a radical change in its format from the 2024/25 season. The UEFA Executive Committee announced a series of reforms that seek to make the most exciting competition and accessible to a greater number of teams. These changes include the elimination of the group stage and the expansion of the number of participating teams.
Goodbye to the group stage, welcome to the Champions League league stage
The most significant change is elimination from the group stagewhich until now divided the 32 teams into eight groups of four. Instead, the Champions League will have a league phase, in which the 36 participating teams will compete in a single classification table.
This modification not only expands the number of teams in the competition, but also allows clubs face a greater number of rivalswhich promises more varied and exciting encounters from the first days.
In this new league phase, each team will play eight matches against eight different rivalsinstead of the six that played in the previous format (three rivals, home and away).
The teams will be divided into four pots and each club will face two teams from each pot, playing four home games and four away games.
This format guarantees a greater diversity of confrontations and increases the chances of fans seeing top clubs face each other in the early stages of the competition.
How will additional places be allocated?
With the expansion to 36 teamsUEFA has defined how the four additional places will be distributed:
- First place: It will be awarded to the third-placed team in the league of the federation in fifth position in the UEFA coefficient ranking.
- Second place: It will go to a national champion, increasing to five the number of teams that can qualify through the champions’ route.
- Third and fourth place: They will be allocated to the two associations whose clubs had the best collective performance in the previous season. This means that the teams with the best performance in their domestic leagues, behind those who have already qualified, will have the opportunity to compete in the league phase.
What will the Champions League finals be like?
The results of the matches in the league phase will determine the general classification, with The top eight teams advance directly to the round of 16. Teams ranked between 9th and 24th will play a two-legged play-off series to secure their place in the round of 16.
Teams finishing in 25th place or lower will be eliminated without the possibility of accessing the UEFA Europa League.
The knockout format will remain similar to the current one, with los play-offs offering an additional opportunity for teams to fight for a place in the Round of 16. The highest-ranked teams in the league phase will have seeding advantage in the knockout draws.
To reinforce the synergy between the league phase and the knockout phase, and to offer a greater sporting incentive during the league phase, the knockout phase pairings will also will be determined in part by the league phase classificationwith a draw that will also determine and chart the path of the teams to the final.
Changes to the UEFA Europa League and Conference League
UEFA has also decided to apply similar changes to the other continental competitions. Both the UEFA Europa League such as the UEFA Conference League (which will change its name to UEFA Conference League) will adopt the league phase format.
When will the matches be played?
The changes in the format will also bring adjustments to the schedule. The Champions League and Europa League will be played between September and January, while the Conference League will do so between September and December.
The matches of the Champions League will be played Tuesday and Wednesdayand those of the Europa League and the Conference League will be held on Thursdays.
