The draw for the Champions League group stage will be conducted by a computer, not by former players and UEFA officials, DPA reports.
The ceremony is scheduled for August 29 in Monaco. The new format of the tournament will have 36 teams, each of which will play eight matches instead of six, as it was before.
UEFA has changed the methodology for determining the participants in the groups, as the new format would require about a thousand balls and 36 ballot boxes, which would make the draw unbearably long.
The traditional draw will also be used, but for a short time, and then the computer will intervene. The reason is the complexity of the so-called "Swiss model," in which teams from the same country cannot meet in the group stage of the tournament. They also cannot face more than two teams from the same country.
The draws for the Europa League and the Conference League will take place in the same format on August 30. The draw with balls will return at the playoff stage.
