Discover the most important tales from throughout the soccer world by visiting our Prime Soccer Information part and subscribing to push notifications.
The Champions League can have a distinctly totally different look subsequent season after UEFA introduced sweeping modifications to its marquee membership competitors beginning in 2024-25.
Following greater than 20 years beneath the present format, UEFA lastly revealed plans for its extremely anticipated revamped Champions League, apparently in response to the temporary menace posed by the European Tremendous League final yr.
What’s totally different concerning the new format?
The elimination of the group stage format is probably the most important change introduced Monday.
An thrilling new period for European membership soccer awaits 🤩
Right here’s how the #UCL will look from 2024/25 👇 pic.twitter.com/mEffFOpX2O
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 4, 2024
The 32-team group stage featured since 2003 might be changed by a league section and embrace an extra 4 groups, bringing the full variety of Champions League individuals to 36 golf equipment.
Subsequent season, certified groups will play eight video games – two greater than in earlier years – within the opening spherical of the match.
Every membership might be drawn in opposition to eight totally different opponents that it’ll play in 4 residence and 4 away matches. Groups might be initially ranked in 4 seeding pots to find out their eight opponents.
The change ought to make “prime groups” meet earlier within the match extra steadily, in line with UEFA.
To allocate the 4 further Champions League league section spots, two locations will go to groups within the best-performing leagues in Europe, based mostly on their efficiency within the present season. The third will go to the third-ranked group within the league ranked fifth within the UEFA coefficient.
The fourth extra place goes to “a home champion by extending from 4 to 5 the variety of golf equipment qualifying by way of the Champions path of the competitors’s qualifying course of,” which consists of 4 qualifying rounds.
How will the knockout section work?
To immediately qualify for the spherical of 16, groups should end within the prime eight positions of the league.
Golf equipment that end between ninth place and twenty fourth will meet in a two-legged knockout playoff spherical to find out who qualifies for the remaining eight spots within the spherical of 16.
Groups that end twenty fifth and decrease are eradicated routinely and will not be granted entry to the Europa League.
After the spherical of 16, the match will proceed to make use of its present format of two-legged knockout spherical video games till the one-leg last.
“The brand new format, with all of the groups ranked collectively in a single league, will imply that there’s extra to play for right through to the ultimate evening of the league section,” UEFA stated.
Will this have an effect on the calendar?
Beneath the brand new system, first-round video games within the Champions League and Europa League video games might be performed between September and January, whereas the Europa Convention League matches will happen from September till December.
Every league can have “one unique matchweek” along with customary weeks through which matches might be contested on the identical days as this season.
Nonetheless, in the course of the Champions League-specific week, video games might be performed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On the Europa League week, video games are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, whereas the Europa Convention League-specific week function video games on Thursdays.
What concerning the Europa League, Convention League?
The Europa League and the UEFA Europa Convention League will undertake related modifications to the Champions League, together with a league section as a substitute of the group stage and increasing to 36 groups.
Nonetheless, golf equipment within the UEFA Europa Convention League – which might be known as UEFA Convention League after this season – are assured six video games within the opening spherical as a substitute of eight, just like the Champions League and Europa League.
The 2024-25 Champions League season formally kicks off July 9 and concludes with the ultimate match on Could 31, 2025.
#seasons #UCL #format