In this post we take a look at the new Champions League format and explain to how it works, how it's different and when it will be implemented.
At a meeting in Vienna just over two years ago, the UEFA Executive Committee signed off on a new format following two years of debate and speculation about the future of the premier competition in European football.
The 2024-25 season will see more teams taking part and significantly more matches being played in what has been titled the “Super League Volume Two”. Teams from the same nations could also meet far sooner, while fans are likely to find themselves in the position whereby they’ll have to cheer on their domestic rivals to supplement their European aspirations.
What does the new Champions League look like from 2024-25?
This season will be the first in 21 years where the format has changed in the competition.
For the last 21 iterations of the competition 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four with the top-two qualifying for the Round of 16, with third dropping into the UEFA Cup/Europa League and fourth eliminated from Europe
This season the number of teams competing in the competition will increase from 32 to 36 and the number of matches will rise from 125 to 189 with the Group Stage being replaced by a league phase commonly referred to as the “Swiss Model”.
Each participant plays eight league matches (originally ten was proposed) which will be evenly split between five home games and five away wins.
Following those games, the top eight will qualify for the knockout stage with the remaining places decided between teams ranked 9th-24th partaking in a two-legged play-off, to earn a place in the Round of 16. The top eight sides go straight through to the Round of 16 in March.
How is The New Champions League Format Different?
The current format places 32 teams across eight four-team groups with the top two teams reaching the knockout stages and the third-place side dropping into the Europa League compared with the new league format.
These teams qualify for the knockout rounds through the last-16 stage, the quarter-final, and the semi-final and win the final for the title of Champions of Europe.
The league format will also be condensed into a ten-week period, which will result in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League receiving an exclusive week dedicated to their tournament.
Who will The New Format favour?
Well, that depends on the season and domestic sides performances in Europe.
This season both Italy and Germany have four automatic league phase spots for the 2024/25 campaign meaning their top-4 from the 23/24 season were assured of a league place.
Bologna, fifth in Serie A, will take Italy's European Performance Spot, while Germany's will go to fifth-placed Dortmund.
While it is possible for respective “smaller countries” to earn one of the coefficient places, there is a thought that this new system does resemble a “Super League” format. The original 10-game format was not wanted by the Premier League and La Liga sides while Ligue 1 in France wanted a ten-game format with no club coefficients.
The French league wanted one of the two extra places to go to a domestic champion from a mid-sized league. While the other place would go to the fifth biggest league which is conveniently Ligue 1.
What are the financial ramifications?
These proposed changes could go some way to appeasing some of the executives of the clubs that were the biggest supporters of the “Super League” for now at least. Many executives criticized the coefficient system as it put a “glass ceiling” on what could be achieved by their club, but the country coefficient system should alleviate that concern.
However, the financial gap between smaller sides and bigger sides will only grow due to the new format (exactly what proponents of the Super League wanted) due to the increased spots and increased broadcast revenue.
UEFA have said they hope to see overall revenue rise by 33% with the Champions League currently bringing in €3.6billion (£3.13bn; $3.9bn) for every season from 2021-2024. UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti has estimated that it could range from €4.6billion and €4.8bn.” afterwards.
The Future of Club Football?
Although some perspective changes have parallels with the infamous failed European Super League attempt in April 2021. This seems like a potentially worthwhile compromise (provided the changes are kept at this).
UEFA know how much of the competition’s marketability comes from the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United and so find themselves between a rock and a hard place to try and preserve football as we know it.
UEFA have said “We are convinced that the format chosen strikes the right balance and that it will improve the competitive balance and generate solid revenues that can be distributed to clubs, leagues and into grassroots football across our continent,”.
The Europa League and Europa Conference League will follow similar formats, the Europa League is using an identical system to the Champions League with a league phase of eight matches per team. Clubs in the Europa Conference League will play six matches in their league stage while both will have 36 teams.
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