ICYMI: Everything to know about new UEFA Champions League, Europa, Conference League format

The UEFA Champions League cup. Credit: AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI

UEFA has announced the new Champions League format, which will come into effect starting from the 2024-25 season.

The football governing body in Europe highlighted that the revised format prioritises selection based on playing “merit,” leading to top teams facing each other more often.

According to a statement released on UEFA’s website on Monday, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, said, “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.”

Below are the highlights of the new format, according to UEFA:

The current Champions League group stage features 32 teams split into eight groups of four. Starting from the 2024/25 season, 36 clubs are set to take part in the Champions League league phase (formerly known as the group stage), providing four additional teams with the chance to challenge Europe’s top clubs. These 36 clubs will take part in a unified league competition where all 36 clubs are ranked together. Teams will now compete in eight matches during the league phase, which was previously known as the group stage. They are changing their schedule to play against eight different teams, with half of the matches at home and the other half away, instead of playing three opponents twice. In order to identify the eight different opponents, the teams will first be ranked into four seeding pots. Every team will be drawn to compete against two opponents from each of these pots, facing one team from each pot at their home stadium and one away.

How will the four extra Champions League group stage spots be allocated?

Qualification for the Champions League will continue to be open and depend on a club’s final position in the previous season’s domestic league competition combined with each association’s position in the association club coefficient ranking. The access list will maintain its current structure for the upcoming season, with an additional four slots being distributed for the 2024/25 season as outlined below: Slot one: This place will go to 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, which will consist of four qualifying rounds. Slots three and four: These places will go to the associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the previous season (i.e. the association club coefficient of the previous season, which is based on the total number of club coefficient points obtained by each club from an association divided by the number of participating clubs from that association). Those two associations will each earn one automatic place in the league phase (‘European Performance Spot’) for the club ranked next-best in their domestic league behind those clubs that have already qualified directly for the league phase.

How will teams reach the Champions League knockout phase and will the format for the knockout phase change?

Each match outcome will determine the final ranking in the league, following the traditional point system of three points for a win and one point for a draw. The teams ranked in the top eight positions will secure direct qualification to the round of 16, while those placed between 9th and 24th will participate in a two-legged knock-out phase play-off to earn their spot in the last 16 of the competition. If teams finish 25th or lower, they will be eliminated without any chance to participate in the UEFA Europa League. The updated structure, where all teams are ranked in one league, will increase the stakes for every team until the last night of the league phase. In the knockout phase, the teams which finished between 9th and 16th 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 clubs which prevail in the knockout phase play-offs will then progress to the round of 16, where they will each face one of the top-eight finishers, who will be seeded in the round of 16. The pairings of the knockout phase will also be partly determined by the league phase rankings, with a draw which likewise determines and lays out the route for teams to reach the final. 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. All games before the final will continue to be played in midweek, recognising the importance of the domestic calendar of games across Europe, while the final will continue to be played on a Saturday.

Will the Europa League and Europa Conference League formats change from 2024/25 too?

In a similar manner, adjustments will be made to the UEFA Europa League (eight matches against eight different opponents in the league phase) and UEFA Europa Conference League, which will be known as the UEFA Conference League starting from 2024/25 (six matches against six different opponents in the league phase). Both tournaments will include 36 teams in the league phase.

How will the calendar look for the new format of the three competitions?

The matches for the Champions League and Europa League are scheduled from September to January, with the Europa Conference League matches set to take place from September to December. Every UEFA club competition will feature a unique matchweek, with the other two competitions not having any matches during that time. During a standard week, Champions League games are scheduled for Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with Europa League and Europa Conference League matches taking place on Thursdays. During the Champions League exclusive week, matches will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. During the Europa League exclusive week, matches are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. During the Europa Conference League week, matches will be held on Thursday. During the final matchday of each league phase, all games will be played at the same time.

Okiki Adeduyite

Okiki is a journalist with over seven years experience covering politics, foreign news, society, entertainment and the film industry.

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