From the 2024/2025 season, the Champions League is changing its format. We explain what will change, what will remain, what it means for fans and how it will affect other UEFA club competitions.
Photo: Getty ImagesThere is a reason why football is one of the most successful and popular sports in the world. It doesn't stand still. Since the first edition of the tournament known as the European Champions Cup in 1955, UEFA has constantly developed and adapted the UEFA Champions League to keep pace with the changes in football as a whole.
To ensure that clubs, players and fans are happy with the new format for the 2024/25 season, UEFA held lengthy consultations with key members of the European football community. The final format, selection scheme and European Cup calendar were approved on 10 May 2022 following UEFA's decision on 19 April 2021 to introduce the new tournament system.
"UEFA has made it clear that we remain fully committed to respecting the core values of sport and defending the key principle of the openness of our competitions, where entry is based on sporting performance. This is fully in line with the values and model of European sport, which is based on the principles of solidarity," said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. - I am very pleased that the UEFA Executive Committee unanimously adopted this decision, which was endorsed by the Association of European Clubs, the European leagues and the national associations. This is further proof that European football is more united than ever before."
What will change in the Champions League from the 2024/25 season?
The main change under the reforms announced by the UEFA Executive Committee is the abandonment of the Champions League group stage in its current form. Today, 32 teams take part in the group stage, which is divided into eight groups of four each. From the 2024/25 season, 36 clubs will participate in the Champions League main stage (formerly the group stage), giving four more teams the opportunity to compete against the best teams in Europe. These 36 clubs will play in a single league in which all will compete against each other.
Under the new format, teams will play eight matches in the overall stage (formerly the group stage). They will no longer play three opponents twice each - home and away. Instead, each club will play eight matches against eight different teams - four at home and four at home. To determine the eight opponents, teams will initially be allocated to four seeding baskets. Each team will then draw two opponents from each basket and play one home and one away match against teams from each basket.
In this way the participants will be able to test their mettle against a wider range of opponents and fans will have a better chance of seeing top clubs meet at an earlier stage. The new format will also result in each club having more competitive matches throughout the tournament.
Who will get the four extra places?
The Champions League will remain open. Teams will still qualify based on their performances in domestic competitions, based on each national association's position in the association's club rankings. From the 2024/25 season onwards, the four additional places will be allocated according to three criteria:
- Pool 1: One of the additional places will be awarded to the third team from the fifth association in the UEFA club rankings of the national associations.
- Pathway 2: One place will be awarded to the national champion who qualifies via the so-called Champions' Pathway, as the number of such pathways will increase from four to five. Qualification will consist of four rounds.
- Pathways 3 and 4: The remaining two places will be awarded to the associations with the best average of points from the previous European Cup season (total number of points divided by the number of representatives of the association). These two associations will delegate to the Champions League general stage the club that finished in the domestic championship just behind the clubs that have already made it directly to the general stage of the tournament.
Who makes the play-offs under the new format?
The overall league standings are compiled based on the results of all matches. Teams still get three points for a win and one point for a draw.
The top eight teams in the general stage will directly qualify for the 1/8 finals. Those ranked 9th to 24th will play a pair of knockout matches for the right to join the top eight. Teams ranked 25th and below will finish the season without continuing in the UEFA Europa League.
The new format, with all teams in the same standings, will help to keep all participants motivated throughout the overall stage.
In the play-off draw, those seeded 9th to 16th in the main stage will be seeded and will play the teams seeded 17th to 24th. The seeded teams will play the return leg at home. The eight winners of the knockout matches will qualify for the 1/8 finals, where they will play one of the top 8 clubs from the general stage, who will be seeded in the draw.
In order to increase the synergy between the general stage and the play-offs, and to provide greater sporting incentive in the general stage, the pairings in the play-offs will also be partly determined by the teams' final places in the general stage. At the same time, the draw will determine each team's route to the finals.
Starting with the 1/8 finals, the tournament will be played according to the current format. The final will consist of one match and will be played at a neutral stadium, which UEFA will choose in advance.
All matches apart from the final will be played midweek as before, emphasising the importance of the national tournament calendar across Europe. The final will traditionally be played on Saturday.
Will the format of the Europa League and Conference League also change?
Yes. The format of the UEFA Europa League (eight matches in the overall stage and thus eight different opponents for each team) and the UEFA Conference League (six matches in the overall stage and thus six different opponents for each team) will also change. Both tournaments will also have 36 teams playing in the general stage.
What will the calendar look like with the new format of the three tournaments?
The Champions League and Europa League main stages will be played from September to January, while the Conference League matches will be played from September to December. Each of the three UEFA club tournaments will have one exclusive game week when matches in the other two tournaments are not played.
In standardised weeks, Champions League matches will be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while Europa League and Conference League matches will be played on Thursdays. In the exclusive Champions League week, matches will be played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. In the exclusive Europa League week, matches will be played on Wednesday and Thursday. In the exclusive week of the Conference League, matches will be played on Thursday.
In the last round of the general stage of each tournament, all matches will be played at the same time.
What will the new Champions League format give fans?
- Not only more participants, but also more matches between top clubs that can take place at earlier stages of the tournament.
- The new format will provide a more competitive balance between all teams, who will have the opportunity to play against opponents of their own level throughout the overall stage.
- Every match is important. In the general stage, any result can have a significant impact on a team's position - from the first to the last round. A victory can directly lead to the 1/8 finals, while a defeat can mean elimination or participation in the knockout rounds.
What will the new format bring to European football?
The changes are designed to ensure a favourable future for European football at all levels and to meet the changing needs of all stakeholders. With an unequivocal commitment to open competition and sporting principle across the continent, the overall aim is also to support national leagues. As noted above, UEFA's new club tournament format will allow more teams and therefore more coaches and players to participate in more competitive matches on the European stage.
UEFA has reaffirmed a firm financial commitment to all of European football and will take steps to ensure solidarity for clubs that do not participate in European competitions. This will strengthen the solid foundation on which European football stands.
How has the Champions League changed?
Our Champions League and Europa League chronology shows in detail how the tournaments have evolved from 1955, when the first Champions Cup was played, followed by the Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup, to the formation of the current European Cup system.
