European football is one of the most prosperous and well-liked sports in the world for a reason. It is never motionless. Since the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, the competition’s original name, was introduced in 1955, UEFA has regularly modified and updated the UEFA Champions League to keep up with broader developments in the game.
UEFA based the design of the new 2024/25 format on deep engagement with important stakeholders in the European football community to guarantee the best possible outcomes for clubs, players, and fans. UEFA decided to implement a new competition structure on April 19, 2021, and on May 10, 2022, the final format, access list, and calendar for European club competitions were agreed.
In what ways will the Champions League structure differ from 2024–2025?
The departure from the group stage structure of the present format is a key change in the modifications announced by the UEFA Executive Committee. There are 32 players in the current Champions League group stage, split into 8 groups of 4.
Starting with the 2024–2025 campaign, 36 clubs will compete in the Champions League league phase (formerly known as the group stage), providing four additional teams with a chance to face the top clubs in Europe. All 36 of the competing clubs will be ranked together and take part in a single league competition.
Under the new format, teams will play eight matches in the new league phase (former group stage). They will no longer play three opponents twice – home and away – but will instead face fixtures against eight different teams, playing half of those matches at home and half of them away.
To determine the eight different opponents, the teams will initially be ranked in four seeding pots. Each team will then be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
This increases the likelihood that spectators will witness the best teams facing off more frequently and early in the competition while also providing clubs with an opportunity to test themselves against a wider range of opponents. Additionally, every team will play in more competitive games as a result.
How will the four additional group stage slots for the Champions League be distributed?
The qualifying process for the Champions League will remain open and will be based on each association’s standing in the association club coefficient ranking as well as a team’s final standing in the domestic league competition of the previous season. The access list’s foundation will stay the same as it did for the current season, and the four extra spots that become available in 2024–2025 will be distributed as follows:
- Slot 1: The club that finishes third in the association championship and fifth on the access list—as defined by the UEFA association club coefficient ranking—will take this spot.
- Slot 2: A domestic champion will be granted this position by increasing the number of clubs who qualify through the Champions path of the competition’s four qualifying rounds, from four to five.
- Slots 3 & 4: These will go to the associations whose clubs had the best overall season performance last year (i.e., the association club coefficient of the previous season, which is based on the total number of club coefficient points each association’s clubs received divided by the number of clubs from that association that participated). The club that is ranked second-best in its home league, behind those who have already qualified directly for the league phase, will receive one automatic spot in the league phase (also known as the “European Performance Spot”) for each of those two organizations.
How will clubs advance to the Champions League knockout stage, and will the knockout phase’s format alter?
In the new league, points will still be awarded for wins and draws, with the outcomes of each game determining the final standings.
The teams placing ninth through twenty-four will play a two-leg knockout phase play-off to guarantee their spot in the competition’s round of sixteen, while the top eight clubs in the league will automatically advance to the round of sixteen.
Teams that place 25th or lower will not be allowed to participate in the UEFA Europa League and will be eliminated. There will be more to play for until the last night of the league phase thanks to the new model, which sees all the clubs ranked together in a single league.
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 for the knockout phase will also be influenced by the league phase rankings, with a draw determining and outlining the path for teams to advance to the final. This will enhance the synergy between the league and knockout phases and provide more sporting incentive during the league phase.
The competition will proceed with its current structure, which consists of knockout stages leading to a final held at a neutral location chosen by UEFA, starting with the round of 16.
The final will still take place on a Saturday, but all of the games leading up to it will still take place in the middle of the week, acknowledging the significance of the domestic schedule of competitions around Europe.
Will the forms of the Europa League and Europa Conference League also alter in 2024–2025?
Indeed. The UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League, which will be renamed the UEFA Conference League as of 2024–2025, will also undergo similar format changes. Both competitions will have 36 teams participating in the league phase, with eight matches and eight different opponents in the league phase.
How will the three tournaments’ revised schedule appear on the calendar?
While the Europa Conference League matches take place between September and December, the Champions League and Europa League fixtures take place between September and January. There will be one exclusive matchweek for each of the three UEFA club tournaments; the other two competitions are not scheduled for this week.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the days that Champions League games are played in regular weeks. On Thursdays, Europa League and Europa Conference League games are played. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week’s Champions League exclusive schedule will see Champions League games. Wednesday and Thursday will be the dates of the Europa League matches during the restricted week. Matches in the Europa Conference League will take place on Thursdays during the exclusive week.
All matches for the last matchday of each league phase of the competitions will take place at the same time.
