Goodbye to the group stage: UEFA unveils the new Champions League

The body is transforming European soccer's top competition to reward teams for their "sporting merits."

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{"lang":"en","firstPublishedAt":"2024-03-05T09:31:09.000Z"}

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A new era has begun in the Champions League. UEFA made public the new format that the top European soccer competition will have from next season, with the aim of offering "the best for teams, players and fans."

The top European soccer body presented the changes on Monday, through a press release and a video posted on social networks. It will not be a radical change: certain aspects of the current format will be maintained. The changes will affect the other two UEFA competitions: the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin assured that the new model will reward teams for their "sporting merits." A decision that would not have gone ahead without the backing of UEFA's various member bodies:

UEFA has clearly shown that we are fully committed to respecting the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principle of open competitions, with qualification based on sporting merit, fully in line with the values and solidarity-based European sports model. I am really pleased that it was a unanimous decision of the UEFA Executive Committee, with the European Club Association, European Leagues and national associations all agreeing with the proposal made. Another proof that European football is more united than ever.

New UEFA Champions League format

Until this season, 32 teams from UEFA's partner associations qualified for a group stage. Some did so directly on the basis of their coefficient and the local league in which they played; others had to go through preliminary games - played in August - to advance to the group stage.

This first phase, which was held between September and December, was made up of eight groups, with four teams each. After playing six matches, the top two in each group qualified for the round of 16.

From the 2024/2025 season onwards, 36 rather than 32 teams will participate in the first phase "to give four more teams the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe." And the group stage is transformed into a league. Each of the members will play eight matches - four at home and four away. The opponents each team will face will be drawn by lot.

Once this first phase is concluded, the eight best-ranked teams will advance to the round of 16. A round that needs another eight participants, and that will come out of a playoff round that will be played by the teams ranked between 9th and 24th in the league, both included. Teams ranked from 25th to 36th will be eliminated.

The rounds that will not undergo any change will be the round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final. Neither will the days on which the games will be played: all will be played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, except for the final, which will be on a Saturday.