FILE PHOTO: General view of the UEFA Champions League trophy.| Photo Credit: REUTERS
UEFA has announced a new format for the 2024-25 edition of the Champions League, which will see a significant change in the group stage format and the number of teams taking part in the tournament.
From the 2024-25 season onwards, 36 clubs will participate in a single league phase, instead of the present group stage format where 32 participants are divided into eight groups of four.
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 the other half 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.
How will the four extra teams for the league phase be selected?
While the qualification for the competition will continue to remain dependent on a club’s final position in the previous season’s domestic league competition, combined with each association’s position in the club coefficient ranking, the four additional slot will be decided as follows:
SLOT ONE: The club ranked third in the championship of the association in fifth position in the access list, which is determined by the UEFA association club coefficient ranking.
SLOT TWO: This place will be awarded to a domestic champion by extending from four to five the number of clubs qualifying via the Champions path of the competition’s qualifying process, consisting of four qualifying rounds.
SLOT THREE AND FOUR: These places will go to the two associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the previous season, and the next best-ranked clubs behind the ones that have already qualified from these associations will receive a spot in the league phase.
ALSO READ | Sony acquires exclusive media rights for UEFA EURO 2024, 2028
How will the teams for the knockout phase be decided?
The top eight teams after the league phase will qualify for the knockout rounds while the teams ranked 9th to 24th will take part in two-legged playoffs to secure a spot in the round of 16. The 9th to 16th ranked teams will be seeded in the knockout phase play-off draw, meaning they will face a team placed 17th to 24th – with, in principle, the return leg at home.
The eight teams that qualify will each face one of the top-eight finishers.
Teams that finish 25th or lower in the league phase will be eliminated, with no access to the UEFA 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.
What about the Europa League and Europa Conference League?
The same format changes will also be applied to the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League, which will be called the UEFA Conference League as of 2024/25, with both competitions also featuring 36 teams in the league phase.
Comments
FAQs
Starting in the 2024/25 season, 36 clubs will compete in a single league phase, replacing the group stage and offering four additional teams the chance to take part. In this new format, each team will play eight matches against eight different opponents instead of playing three teams home and away.
What is the new UCL format for 2024? ›
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League will be the first under the new 36-team league phase format, with two of the additional four places to be filled by the European Performance Spots. Last updated at 09:00 CET on Monday 27 May.
What is the new 36 team Champions League format? ›
However, this format will be replaced by one league table where 36 clubs will participate in the new league phase - giving four more sides the chance to compete. Clubs will no longer play three teams twice, but will take on eight different sides with four home games and four away games.
How many Premier League teams qualify for the Champions League in 2024? ›
The top four teams in the Premier League will thus qualify for the Champions League group stage. They will not play in qualifying. Nothing to see here. So what about the other European competitions?
How many teams qualify for the Europa League in 2024? ›
A total of 77 teams from between 32 and 47 of the 55 UEFA member associations are expected to participate in the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League.
Can Liverpool qualify for the Champions League in 2024? ›
Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Aston Villa have qualified for the Champions League via top-four finishes.
What teams can qualify for the Champions League? ›
Twenty-five teams qualify automatically by virtue of their domestic league placing, with the holders of the Champions League and UEFA Europa League also both guaranteed a spot. Rebalancing is required should either of those title winners also qualify automatically via their domestic league placing.
How does the new Champions League system work? ›
What will the Champions League look like from 2024-25? The number of teams competing will increase from 32 to 36, meaning there will be 189 matches instead of 125, and the group stage will be replaced by a league phase — otherwise known as the “Swiss model”.
What is the new format for Champions League winners? ›
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.
Can the same country play in the Champions League round of 16? ›
At this stage of the tournament, teams from the same country cannot play against each other. Similarly, no teams who were in the same group can face each other in the Round of 16 (for instance, Real Madrid could not have been drawn against Napoli). Those parameters do not apply once we get to the quarterfinal stage.
But from 2024-25 the cap has been removed and it will be possible for seven teams to get a place in the UCL: The top four, fifth through league performance in Europe, and the winners of the UCL and the UEL.
Who will be promoted to the Premier League in 2025? ›
The three teams who earned promotion for the 2024-25 Premier League campaign are Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton.
What does 7th place in the Premier League get? ›
But the FA Cup could change things...
In that case, their Europa League berth goes to the side finishing sixth in the Premier League. The knock-on effect would be that the team finishing seventh in the league would qualify for the Conference League.
What does 6th place in the Premier League get? ›
The team finishing sixth or lower depending on the cup competitions will enter the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Can a seventh place qualify for Europa League? ›
If Man City win the FA Cup, sixth will become a Europa League place and the Europa Conference League spot will drop to seventh. So that means seventh place will qualify for Europe if City come out on top at Wembley.
What is the format for the Champions League 2024 25? ›
This will be the first season under a new format, where in the league phase each team plays eight games against different opponents, but all 36 teams are ranked in a joint group. The Allianz Arena in Munich will host the final. The final will be played on 31 May 2025 at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
Where is 2024 UCL? ›
Will the Premier League have 5 Champions League spots? ›
But the Premier League will not receive an extra Champions League place. After Arsenal and Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively, the Premier League fell into third place, behind Serie A and the Bundesliga, who now cannot be caught.
Where will the 2024 European Championships be held? ›
The next edition will be held in Germany in summer 2024, and is called Euro 2024. The competition takes a similar format to the World Cup - six groups of four teams will be contested on a round-robin basis, with the top two in each group and four best third-placed teams progressing to a knockout phase.
How many champions are in League of Legends 2024? ›
How many champions are there in LoL? The League of Legends universe currently features an impressive lineup of 168 distinct champions. The newest champion to enter the fray is Smolder, the Fiery Fledgling, introduced in Patch 14.3. As a marksman, Smolder excels at delivering physical damage.
