The UEFA Champions League will be reborn and remodified in the 2024/25 season, with the competition getting a new face, alongside the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League.
From the 2024/25 season, the present 32-team group stage in the UEFA Champions League will be replaced by a 36-team league phase - this also applies to the Europa League and Conference League.
In the top-tier European club continental competition, each team will be drawn against 8 different oppositions, 2 from each of the 4 seeding pots.
These teams will play four matches at their home turf, and 4 matches at away venues, but in the UEFA Conference League, it takes a different trajectory.
Each team will play just 6 opponents, 1 from each of the 6 seeding pots, in what is expected to be captivating and thrilling.
Teams that finish in position 1 to 8 in the UEFA Champions League, league phase, qualify automatically for the Round of 16.
However, teams ranked 9th to 24th, will have to face each other in a knockout playoff round, to join the top 8 that have already booked their place in the next round.
Additionally, teams in positions 25 to 36 are eliminated from all UEFA competitions, as opposed to the nearly extinct format where teams that finish 3rd in the group phase of the Champions League drop down to the Round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League.
Anyway, as we proceed, in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League, all ties - Round of 16, Quarter-final, and Semi-final are contested home and away, just as it is with the present format. The final remains just one leg.
With the new league format, every match, every goal, and every point and position on the table is valued highly.
The new season definitely will bring on board fast-changing and unpredictable standings, with obviously more matches between equally ranked teams battling for precious points.
Fans definitely can enjoy intriguing matches, right from the commencement of the tournament.
The 2024/25 season according to UEFA, will offer “a thrilling new future for European club football”.
There have been those in support and not in support of the new format, with some fans against it indicating that it mirrors the proposed European Super League.
Purists, who are also not in support of it also claim that it takes away the allure of the competition, but obviously, it is worth noting that change is a constant feature in life.
The current format of the UEFA Champions League also came to the fore in the 1992/93 season, with teams battling for pride and glory.
Meanwhile, one mind-boggling question that has been asked by some is that given the expansion of the competition to 36 teams, how will the extra four slots be allocated?
Well, here is your answer; the 1st slot will go to the club ranked third in the championship of the association or league in fifth position in the access list, which is determined by the UEFA association club coefficient ranking.
The 2nd spot will be handed to a domestic champion by extending from 4 to 5 the number of clubs qualifying through the Champions path of the competition's qualifying process, which will include four qualifying rounds.
The 3rd and 4th spots will go to the associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the previous season.
This simply implies, the association club coefficient of the previous season, which is based on the total number of club coefficient points obtained by each club from an association divided by the number of participating clubs from that association.
Those two associations or leagues will each earn one automatic place in the league phase.
It has also been dubbed the ('European Performance Spot'), and it is for clubs ranked next-best in their domestic league behind those clubs that have already booked their place for the league phase.
From the 2024/25 season, the present 32-team group stage in the UEFA Champions League will be replaced by a 36-team league phase - this also applies to the Europa League and Conference League.
In the top-tier European club continental competition, each team will be drawn against 8 different oppositions, 2 from each of the 4 seeding pots.
These teams will play four matches at their home turf, and 4 matches at away venues, but in the UEFA Conference League, it takes a different trajectory.
Each team will play just 6 opponents, 1 from each of the 6 seeding pots, in what is expected to be captivating and thrilling.
Teams that finish in position 1 to 8 in the UEFA Champions League, league phase, qualify automatically for the Round of 16.
However, teams ranked 9th to 24th, will have to face each other in a knockout playoff round, to join the top 8 that have already booked their place in the next round.
Additionally, teams in positions 25 to 36 are eliminated from all UEFA competitions, as opposed to the nearly extinct format where teams that finish 3rd in the group phase of the Champions League drop down to the Round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League.
Anyway, as we proceed, in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League, all ties - Round of 16, Quarter-final, and Semi-final are contested home and away, just as it is with the present format. The final remains just one leg.
With the new league format, every match, every goal, and every point and position on the table is valued highly.
The new season definitely will bring on board fast-changing and unpredictable standings, with obviously more matches between equally ranked teams battling for precious points.
Fans definitely can enjoy intriguing matches, right from the commencement of the tournament.
The 2024/25 season according to UEFA, will offer “a thrilling new future for European club football”.
There have been those in support and not in support of the new format, with some fans against it indicating that it mirrors the proposed European Super League.
Purists, who are also not in support of it also claim that it takes away the allure of the competition, but obviously, it is worth noting that change is a constant feature in life.
The current format of the UEFA Champions League also came to the fore in the 1992/93 season, with teams battling for pride and glory.
Meanwhile, one mind-boggling question that has been asked by some is that given the expansion of the competition to 36 teams, how will the extra four slots be allocated?
Well, here is your answer; the 1st slot will go to the club ranked third in the championship of the association or league in fifth position in the access list, which is determined by the UEFA association club coefficient ranking.
The 2nd spot will be handed to a domestic champion by extending from 4 to 5 the number of clubs qualifying through the Champions path of the competition's qualifying process, which will include four qualifying rounds.
The 3rd and 4th spots will go to the associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the previous season.
This simply implies, the association club coefficient of the previous season, which is based on the total number of club coefficient points obtained by each club from an association divided by the number of participating clubs from that association.
Those two associations or leagues will each earn one automatic place in the league phase.
It has also been dubbed the ('European Performance Spot'), and it is for clubs ranked next-best in their domestic league behind those clubs that have already booked their place for the league phase.