UEFA Champions League New Format

On 11 May, UEFA Confirms a new champions league Format for the 2024-25 season. According to the Champions League New Rules and Format, Champions League to expand from 32 to 36 teams in 2024 as Uefa approves changes.

Champions League New Rules and Format

The number of clubs in the Champions League will be increased from 32 to 36 from the 2024-25 season, European football’s governing body UEFA announced on Tuesday.

Under the new format approved by the UEFA Executive Committee, every team will play eight games over 10 match weeks.

In the current format, 32 teams were placed in eight groups of four, with each side playing six matches against three teams on a home-and-away basis.

The top two from each group progress to the last 16, the first of the knockout rounds that are played home and away over two legs.

The new format will see a switch from the “traditional group stage to a single league phase including all participating teams,” read a UEFA statement.

This guarantees every team “a minimum of 8 league stage games against 8 different opponents (four home games, four away) rather than the previous six matches against three teams,” it added.

“The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the knockout stage, while the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition,” the statement explained.

The number of teams in the Champions League group stage will rise from 32 to 36 from 2024-to 25 under changes approved by Uefa. Under the new format, each team will play eight games over 10 match weeks.

let’s take a clear look at the new improvised format by UEFA:

Changes in The Champions League Format

1. The tournament will expand from 32 teams to 36 teams. A final, 36-team group-stage table, that ranks teams from 1-to 24 based on how well they performed
2. The Traditional group stage idea will be abandoned. Instead, a single league phase is going to introduce all the teams.
3. In the Champions league, Each team will play eight matches, four home and four away, instead of 6 group matches ( current format).
4. Teams that rank 1-8 in this group-stage table are effectively seeded and enter the round of 16. Just like the group-stage winners are under the current format, the top eight teams will qualify automatically for the knockout stages.
5. Reaminging teams, from 9th place to 24th place will play a two-legged playoff for the other eight knock-out stage sports. Teams that finish 25-36 will be eliminated from Europe altogether.
6. The knockout bracket will be split in two. The best performing clubs in the group stage, ranked 1 and 2, will be drawn into positions at the opposite end of the bracket, thus unable to meet each other until the final
7. Teams ranked 3 & 4, 5 & 6, and 7 & 8 will also be paired and have set positions in opposite halves of the bracket, determined by the draw.

Four new Spots and Additional teams:

UEFA will add four new teams ahead of the 2024-25 champions league season. The format to add the additional teams is:

1. 1. The first place out of 4 will go to the club ranked third in the fifth-placed association in Europe.
   2. The second spot out of 4 will go to a domestic champion via the “Champions Path”.
   3. & 4). The third and fourth spots will go to the two associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in previous seasons. This way, each association club will earn one place.

Two of the four new spots in the Champions League “will go to the associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the previous season,” read the UEFA statement.

A previous proposal suggested that the places should go to clubs based on their “coefficient,” a rating that reflects their performance in European competitions over the previous five years.

The new method takes into account the coefficient of a country as a whole.

As for the remaining two spots, one will be taken by “the club ranked third in the championship of the association in fifth position in the UEFA national association ranking,” the statement said.

“One place will be awarded to a domestic champion by extending from four to five the number of clubs qualifying via the so-called ‘Champions Path’,” it added.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said the decisions reflect the organization’s commitment to “the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principle of open competitions, with qualification based on sporting merit.”

“Qualification will thus remain purely based on sporting performance and the dream to participate will remain for all clubs,” he said.​​​​​​​

Europa and Europa Conference League Changes

UEFA Europa League | Similar to the Champions League, the UEFA Europa League will also go to have 36 teams in the league phase and eight matches in the league stages.

Europa Conference League | The conference league will also go to have 36 teams as well. But unlike the champions league and UEFA Europa League, it will stick to the original six matches per team in the group stages. Unlike UCL and Europa 8 matches per team in league stages.