The new UEFA Champions League season will begin on September 17, introducing several format changes to the tournament.
The UEFA Champions League draw took place in Monaco on Thursday, marking a departure from previous years.
How Many Teams Will Participate in the Champions League?
The updated Champions League will feature 36 clubs in the main round of the competition, an increase from the previous 32 teams.
How Will the Four Extra Teams Qualify?
The four additional spots are allocated as follows:
An extra place is given to the fifth-best European league according to UEFA’s ranking, meaning France’s Ligue 1 now has three automatic qualifiers.
An additional berth goes to each of the two leagues with the highest coefficient ranking from last season in UEFA competition—this year, Germany and Italy.
The remaining extra spot is awarded to a national champion emerging from the qualifying rounds.
What’s the Format of the New Champions League Group Stage?
The Champions League has undergone a significant format change.
Since 2003, the competition featured 32 clubs divided into eight groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the last 16.
Starting this season, the 36 clubs will be pooled into one league in a “Swiss system,” more commonly associated with chess.
Instead of playing six group-stage games against three opponents home and away, each club will now play eight games against eight different opponents.
How Does the New Group System Work?
The 36 teams will be divided into four seeded pots of nine. Each club will play two teams from each pot, one at home and one away.
Clubs will not face another team from the same domestic league, and each team can only play a maximum of two teams from any one country.
In previous seasons, the group stage concluded in December. However, with the expansion of the Champions League, the additional two matchdays will be scheduled in January.
How Many Games Will Be Played in the Group Stage?
The number of games in the group stage is increasing from 96 in the old format to 144 in the new league phase.
Will the Prize Money Remain the Same?
Prize money has increased, with $2.6 billion set to be distributed among the clubs in the league phase this season, up from $2.2 billion in 2023-24.
However, this increased figure will be shared among 36 clubs rather than the previous 32.
How Will the Draw Work?
UEFA will now operate a hybrid draw.
While the 36 teams will still be manually drawn from the four seeding pots, their opponents will be determined digitally, with the process taking just a second per team.
Once a team is manually drawn, the software will decide the opponents and whether the games will be played at home or away.
How Will Teams Qualify for the Knockout Stage?
The 36 clubs will be ranked together in one league, with the top eight teams progressing directly to the last 16.
The format of the competition from that point onward remains the same, though seeding will take into account the teams’ positions in the league phase.
A playoff round will be introduced, featuring teams that finish from ninth to 24th in the league phase. These teams will face off in a two-legged knockout tie to determine the remaining spots in the last 16. These playoff ties will be seeded.
What Are the Dates of the Champions League Group Stage?
Matchday 1: September 17-19, 2024
Matchday 2: October 1-2, 2024
Matchday 3: October 22-23, 2024
Matchday 4: November 5-6, 2024
Matchday 5: November 26-27, 2024
Matchday 6: December 10-11, 2024
Matchday 7: January 21-22, 2025
Matchday 8: January 29, 2025
Will Bottom Teams Still Qualify for the Europa League?
No. The bottom 12 teams in the league phase will be eliminated from the competition.
What Else Is New?
UEFA has introduced an “exclusive week” for each of its three men’s club competitions, during which no matches will be played in the other two competitions.
For the Champions League, the exclusive week will be matchday one, with games played on September 17-19.
The Europa League’s exclusive week is September 25-26, and the Conference League’s exclusive week is the final round of league phase games on December 19.
READ: The Champions League Prize Money: How much do Clubs receive?
