Format, groups, dates: The UEFA Champions League 2024-25 season defined | Soccer

EXPLAINER

Which groups are taking part in and what’s the league’s format? What are the brand new guidelines? Al Jazeera breaks it down.

The principle spherical of the all-new UEFA Champions League season is to get underneath means in September.

The draw for the larger and changed-up match takes place in Monaco on Thursday, nevertheless it received’t be the identical as earlier years – not completely anyway.

Right here’s how the upcoming season will play out:

What number of groups will take part within the Champions League?

The up to date model of the Champions League will see 36 golf equipment characteristic in the primary spherical of the competitors, a rise from 32 underneath the outdated format.

There’s an additional place for the fifth-best European league in response to UEFA’s rating, which suggests France’s Ligue 1 now has three computerized qualifiers.

As well as, there’s an additional berth for every of the 2 leagues with the best coefficient rating from final season in UEFA competitors, which this yr are Germany and Italy.

The remaining further slot goes to a nationwide champion to emerge from the qualifying rounds.

🆕 League part line-up!#UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/yFs5uipkfQ

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 28, 2024

What’s the format of the brand new Champions League group stage?

Since 2003, the Champions League featured 32 golf equipment cut up into eight teams of 4, with the highest two from every part advancing to the final 16.

That has now modified radically, and from this season, the 36 golf equipment shall be pooled collectively in a single league in a “Swiss system” extra generally related to chess.

Earlier, collaborating groups performed six video games within the group stage, going through every opponent house and away. Now the golf equipment will every have eight video games, one every in opposition to their eight opponents.

How does the brand new group system work?

The 36 groups shall be cut up into 4 seeded pots of 9. Each membership will play two groups from every pot, one at house and one away.

No crew will come up in opposition to one other membership from the identical home league as them, and each membership can solely face a most of two groups from anyone nation.

In previous years, the group stage resulted in December, however the enlargement of the Champions League means the 2 further matchdays shall be staged in January.

What number of video games shall be performed within the group stage?

The variety of video games is rising from 96 within the outdated group stage to 144 within the new league part.

✨ UEFA Champions League all-time high scorer ✨

🏆 Document #UCL golden boot in seven totally different seasons
🏆 Document 17 targets in a single marketing campaign
🏆 Document 140 targets in 183 video games
@Cristiano will obtain a particular award from UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin this week in Monaco!

— UEFA (@UEFA) August 27, 2024

How will the draw work?

Reasonably than a guide draw, UEFA will now function a hybrid draw.

Every of the 36 groups will nonetheless be manually drawn out, working down via the 4 seeding pots from high to backside, however as an alternative of drawing their opponents manually, this may now be executed digitally and take little greater than a second per crew.

As soon as the crew is drawn manually, the software program will choose the opponents and the place the groups will play – house or away.

How will groups qualify for the knockout stage?

The 36 golf equipment shall be ranked collectively within the one league with the highest eight all progressing to the final 16 and the format of the competitors from that time on remaining the identical.

Nonetheless, it will likely be seeded, taking into consideration positions within the league part.

As well as, a playoff spherical shall be launched with the groups ending from ninth to twenty fourth within the league part going via to a two-legged knockout tie to determine the remaining spots within the final 16. These playoff ties shall be seeded.

CONFIRMED: #UCLdraw pots for the league part ✅ pic.twitter.com/hlVrDh7Hvt

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 28, 2024

What are the dates of the Champions League group stage?

• Matchday 1: 17, 18, 19 September 2024
• Matchday 2: 1, 2 October 2024
• Matchday 3: 22, 23 October 2024
• Matchday 4: 5, 6 November 2024
• Matchday 5: 26, 27 November 2024
• Matchday 6: 10, 11 December 2024
• Matchday 7: 21, 22 January 2025
• Matchday 8: 29 January 2025

Will backside groups nonetheless qualify for the Europa League?

No. The underside 12 groups within the league part shall be merely eradicated.

What else is new?

Every of the three UEFA males’s membership competitions will now have one “unique week” when there shall be no matches performed within the different two competitions that week.

For the Champions League, the unique week is matchday one with video games to be performed on September 17, 18 and 19. The Europa League’s can be its first match spherical on September 25 and 26 whereas the Convention League’s unique week is its final spherical of league part video games on December 19.

Will the prize cash stay the identical?

There’s more cash to be distributed among the many golf equipment concerned within the league part of the Champions League – $2.6bn this season in contrast with $2.2bn in 2023-24 – though the brand new determine shall be shared amongst 36 golf equipment fairly than the earlier 32.