The new European football season is upon us, and football fans are itching for some action and the excitement that comes with the new season. As we anticipate this, it’s important to note that we will be seeing a whole new UEFA Champions League format.
Since UEFA announced the change in May 2021, there have been a lot of conversations around it. Some believe this is a great new development, while critics say it may ruin the fun of the competition that many regard as the best club competition in the world. One of the critics of this new style is La Liga President, Javier Tebas, who said at the time that, “The new Champions League is the death of national competitions.”
But for many people who may not have the information Mr. Tebas had, the question remains, how does this new format work? In this post, we explain everything about this new format and what to expect.
Revolutionizing the Beautiful Game
In 1955, UEFA took the step of rebranding the European Cup and renaming it the UEFA Champions League. Since then, this top European competition has seen a whole lot of format changes until we arrived at the 1992 group format. But like all things, a change has come for this format, as UEFA decided to make a move to spice things up.
The organization mentioned that the group stage format was quite predictable and wasn’t favorable to champions from ‘smaller football nations.’ According to Liverpool legend and former Champions League winner, Steven Gerrard, “The Champions League is the competition everyone wants to be in.”
Maybe UEFA had this in mind, which is why the body is trying to create a pathway to participation for more teams who have been missing out in the past. Another issue raised was the wide gap in financial rewards for participants. It is expected that the introduction of this new format will usher in a new wave of competitiveness and boost the reward system for all teams involved.
Expansion and Inclusion
With the announcement of the new UEFA Champions League format, the organizing body went on to give more details about the new competition style. As of the 2024/25 season, 36 teams would be participating in the competition, signalling the inclusion of four additional teams. For this to work, there is a new qualification process.
The New Qualification Process
To enable this format to work efficiently, there was a need for a revised qualification system. Now, smaller teams have an easier path to qualification as opposed to the limited opportunities in the previous format. Now these teams would be able to get more exposure, increased revenue and investment, more competitive experience, and potential for breakthrough performances.
This expanded version of the competition also ensures that:
- Additional teams from top leagues will participate in the competition
- Modest teams have a fighting chance in the league phase
- The use of coefficient places for qualification.
The New League Phase System
According to UEFA, the Champions League will now have a League Phase system which offers a more dynamic structure, as the 36 teams are all placed in a single league table. This means each team would play 8 matches against 8 different opponents, so there wouldn’t be home and away games during the league phase. With this, we would be getting a schedule that pits teams from different countries and leagues against each other.
To properly rank this system and help with qualification into the knockout phase, the teams would be awarded points based on the outcome of their matches. This would follow the normal domestic league points reward system of 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 for a loss.
Key schedule and fixture implications expected as a result of this arrangement include:
- 8 matchdays, played over 14 weeks
- Teams have at least 2 weeks’ rest between matches
- No team plays more than 2 matches in a row at home or away
- Fixture schedule optimized to minimize travel and ensure fair rest periods
UEFA Champions League Knockout Phase
The knockout phase of the new format would commence after the league phase with the top 8 teams automatically advancing. Now for the other teams, especially those ranked 9-24, they would have to battle it out for the remaining 8 spots. This would have them going into the playoff round, where they face their opponents home and away. Sadly for the bottom 12 teams, they would be eliminated, but unlike in the old format, these teams wouldn’t be going into a lower European competition.
Teams in the knockout phase will have to play home and away matches until they reach the finals. The knockout phase consists of:
- Playoff round (9-24th teams)
- Round of 16
- Quarterfinals
- Semifinals
- Final
At the knockout stage, each tie would be played over two legs, and qualification would be based on winning each tie. Qualifications could also be decided on goals in the case of a draw after both ties. The final match however would be a single match and feature extra time or penalties if necessary.
The top 8 teams would have to play only 15 matches to win the tournament, however, for those who go through the playoffs, the quest for European glory will require them to play two extra matches. Oh, and that can mean a lot to the overall team fatigue levels.
Match Schedule and Frequency
In theory, while this new format promises a lot of fun and competitiveness, one issue that many critics have pointed out is that there would be an increase in the number of matches played. As it stands, the number of games would move from the 125 matches played last season to 189 in the new system.
Financially, this might make a lot of sense for the stakeholders as they can rake in more revenue through an increased number of games, leading to better TV deals, however, football clubs and players will likely suffer as they would have to juggle their domestic schedules with the European obligations. More games mean more fatigue, injuries, and potentially poorer performances.
According to football betting expert, Aladar Kollar, apart from club stakeholders, another set of people who would probably love the increased number of fixtures in the new UEFA Champions League format are sports bettors. An increased number of games means more matches to wager on, which could lead to more chances to win. Punters who are looking forward to betting on the matches of the Champions League under the new format in Hungary can sign up with their favorite Hungarian sites for football betting in preparation for the kickoff of the group stages.
Final Thoughts
For the UEFA Champions League organizers, the new change might be interesting. Still, there is no denying the fact that the impact of these changes on the participating teams would be enormous. Apart from the increased fixtures, there are already talks of games being played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on exclusive weeks.
That is massive when you consider what it takes to organize games of such magnitude in the various host cities. As we look forward to the first iteration, we wonder how the teams would fare with match congestion and how players respond to the increased workload. Would it be the domestic FAs or the UEFA bending their rules along the line? Time will tell.
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