The Champions League format will be changed in the coming years after the UEFA Executive Committee approved the change last year.
After more than 30 years of momentous nights in Europe, the Champions League will undergo a dramatic format shift at the end of next season.
After two years of deliberation, the UEFA Executive Committee accepted the new model more than a year ago. The ‘Swiss Model’ will oversee several significant changes to what football fans throughout the world have come to expect.
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Football. London has all the facts you need to comprehend the new format, which will begin with the 2024/25 season.
The new structure will feature 36 teams as opposed to the previous 32, resulting in 189 games on the schedule as opposed to 125. The group stage will be replaced with a league phase in which each team will play at least eight matches, half at home and half away.
The top eight teams in the league will automatically qualify for the knockout stages, with those placing ninth to 24th fighting in a two-leg play-off for a place in the last-16, and the bottom 12 exiting the tournament and not entering the Europa League.
Two of the remaining four berths will be granted to nations whose clubs had the best performance the previous season – total points won divided by the number of competing sides will be used to decide this.
Another change will be the ability for clubs from the same country to play each other in the early knockout stages. Domestic matches are currently prohibited until the quarter-finals.
As the tournament advances, the last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals will be the same as in prior years.
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Because of the Premier League’s supremacy in Europe, England is almost certain to get five Champions League spots instead of the current four. The same thing is expected to occur in Spain, Germany, and Italy.
The historic ‘battle for top four’ in England may soon be replaced by a ‘race for top five,’ providing a significant boost to teams that have struggled to break into the Champions League rankings.
