Champions League is one of the famous tournaments in club football. It is known for its competitiveness as clubs from different countries get a chance to compete for the European title. The fan-favorite tournament will be going through some changes starting from the 2024/2025 season.
Meanwhile, according to SPORT, the UEFA Champions League could potentially face its final season in 2024/25, before the creation of the Super League from the 2025/26 season.
What is the new UCL format?
The new Champions League format will start from the 2024/2025 season, UEFA have announced. The UCL format will include several changes. It will have 36 teams instead of the past 32 teams.
How does the Champions League group stage work?
- Group stages will be replaced by one big league
- Each team plays 8 games in the first phase (4 home, 4 away games)
How does the Champions League knockout phase work?
- Knockout phase will include 24 teams - eight more than the current round of 16
- 1-8 places qualify for round of 16
- 9-24 knockout play offs
- 25-36 eliminated
Is there a round of 16 in the new Champions League format?
- The top eight teams in the league phase will qualify automatically for the knockout stage
- Teams that finish from 9 to 24 will compete in a two-legged play-off which will then decide their path to the round of 16
According to Calcio e Finanza, The Saudi Arabian football association are reportedly in talks with UEFA on having a Saudi team in the UEFA Champions League from 2025.
UEFA Champions League have confirmed how the new competition will look.
As the rules for the Champions League change from next season, some other changes have also been made. From next season, computers are going to be used to make the draw in the tournament.
As per Sky Sports, clubs will be drawn manually and then the computer will take over and select their eight group opponents.