Kick-off for the new Champions League era, in which two Austrian teams are represented in the group stage for the first time thanks to Red Bull Salzburg’s 1:1 draw in the play-off second leg against Dynamo Kiev. After winning 2:0 in the first leg, Salzburg are through with a 3:1 aggregate score – and will find out who their opponents will be today at 6 p.m. in the draw in Monaco. There are these new features:
League format with a single table instead of groups of four: From now on, there will only be one table in the Champions League, which has been expanded to 36 teams. The eight teams that ultimately get the most points from their eight group matches will advance to the round of 16. The 16 teams that finish ninth to 24th will play a direct duel for the remaining eight places in the round of 16. The losers of these duels will be completely eliminated from the European Cup, as will the teams in positions 25 to 36. Unlike before, no one will be promoted to the Europa League.
The opponents: Each team is drawn against eight opponents. There are four home and four away games. No team can play against a team from their own country.
The draw: Unlike in the past, the draw is no longer done by hand by drawing balls, but by computer. Otherwise, the number of options would have been too large and a draw would have taken hours.
The prize pools: There are four pots in total. Each team receives two opponents from each pot – including their own. The fact that runners-up Salzburg were placed in the third pot and champions Sturm Graz in the fourth pot is due to Salzburg’s better UEFA coefficient due to their European Cup successes in recent years.
The TV rights: On Wednesday, Canal+ will broadcast the Austrian participant’s game exclusively, and on Tuesday, Sky will broadcast it exclusively. There are no longer any live matches on free TV. Unlike before, the Champions League matches will no longer be played in the same week as the Europa League and Conference League. Each league will have its own week.
The dates: In contrast to the previous year, the group phase will not end until January of next year. The first six match days will take place between September 17 and December 11. The last two match days are scheduled between January 21 and January 29, 2025.
The prize pools
Pot 1:
Manchester City
FC Bayern
Paris Saint Germain
Real Madrid
RB Leipzig
Borussia Dortmund
Inter Milan
FC Barcelona
FC Liverpool
Pot 2:
Bayer Leverkusen
Atletico Madrid
Juventus Turin
Benfica Lisbon
Atalanta Bergamo
Arsenal
FC Bruges
Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan
Pot 3:
RB Salzburg
Sporting Lissabon
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Celtic Glasgow
PSV Eindhoven
Young Boys Bern
Three participants still open.
Pot 4:
Storm Graz
Aston Villa
FC Girona
FC Bologna
Brest Stadium
Sparta Prague
FC Augsburg
AS Monaco
One participant still open.
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