UEFA has introduced the brand new Champions League format, which is able to come into impact from the 2024-2025 season.
Soccer's governing physique in Europe careworn that the revised format prioritises choice primarily based on enjoying 'benefit', which is able to see high groups face one another extra typically.
In keeping with an announcement printed on the UEFA web site on Monday, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin mentioned: “I’m very happy that it was a unanimous determination of the UEFA Government Committee, involving the European Membership Affiliation, the European Leagues and the nationwide associations all agree with the proposal. Additional proof that European soccer is extra united than ever.”
Under are the highlights of the brand new format in accordance with UEFA:
- The present group stage of the Champions League consists of 32 groups, divided into eight teams of 4. From the 2024/25 season, 36 golf equipment will take part within the Champions League stage (previously generally known as the group stage), giving 4 further groups the prospect to problem Europe's high golf equipment.
- These 36 golf equipment will take part in a uniform competitors wherein all 36 golf equipment are ranked collectively.
- Groups will now compete in eight matches in the course of the competitors part, which was beforehand generally known as the group stage.
- They alter their schedule to play eight totally different groups, with half the video games at dwelling and half away, as an alternative of enjoying three opponents twice.
- To determine the eight totally different opponents, the groups are first divided into 4 seeding pots. Every crew is drawn to compete towards two opponents from every of those pots, with one crew from every pot going through of their dwelling stadium and one from every pot.
How will the 4 additional locations for the Champions League group stage be allotted?
- Qualification for the Champions League stays open and is dependent upon a membership's last place within the earlier season's home competitors, mixed with every affiliation's place within the membership coefficient rankings.
- The entry listing will retain its present construction for the upcoming season, with an extra 4 slots being distributed for the 2024/25 season, as detailed under:
- Slot one: This place goes to the membership that’s in third place within the championship of the affiliation that’s in fifth place within the entry listing, which is set by the rating of the UEFA membership coefficients.
- Slot Two: This spot shall be awarded to a home champion by increasing the variety of golf equipment that qualify by way of the Champions pathway of the competitors's qualification course of from 4 to 5, which is able to consist of 4 qualifying rounds.
- Slots three and 4: These locations go to the associations with the perfect collective efficiency of their golf equipment within the earlier season (i.e. the affiliation membership coefficient of the earlier season, which is predicated on the entire variety of membership coefficient factors achieved by every membership of an affiliation divided by the variety of taking part golf equipment of that affiliation). These two associations every routinely earn one place within the competitors part ('European Efficiency Spot') for the membership ranked subsequent of their nationwide competitors, behind the golf equipment which have already certified immediately for the competitors part.
How will groups attain the knockout levels of the Champions League and can the format for the knockout levels change?
- Every match end result determines the ultimate rating within the competitors, in accordance with the standard factors system of three factors for a win and one level for a draw.
- The groups within the high eight locations will qualify on to the spherical of 16, whereas these seeded between ninth and twenty fourth will participate in a two-legged knockout stage play-off to clinch their place within the final 16 of the competitors to deserve. . If groups end twenty fifth or decrease, they’re eradicated with none likelihood of taking part within the UEFA Europa League.
- The up to date construction, which sees all groups ranked in a single competitors, will increase the stakes for every crew till the ultimate night time of the competitors part.
- Within the knockout stage, the groups positioned between ninth and sixteenth shall be positioned into the knockout stage play-off draw, which means they are going to face a crew ranked seventeenth to twenty fourth – with in precept the second leg at dwelling.
- The eight golf equipment which might be victorious within the knockout levels of the play-offs will then progress to the spherical of 16, the place they are going to every face one of many high eight gamers, who shall be seeded within the spherical of 16.
- The format of the knockout stage can be partly decided by the rankings of the competitors stage, with a draw additionally figuring out and setting the route for groups to achieve the ultimate.
- From spherical 16 onwards, the competitors will proceed to comply with the present format of knockout rounds, resulting in the ultimate at a impartial venue chosen by UEFA.
- All matches earlier than the ultimate shall be performed in the course of the week, recognizing the significance of the home fixture calendar throughout Europe, whereas the ultimate will proceed to be performed on Saturday.
Will the Europa League and Europa Convention League codecs additionally change from 2024/2025?
- Equally, changes shall be made to the UEFA Europa League (eight matches towards eight totally different opponents within the competitors part) and the UEFA Europa Convention League, which shall be referred to as the UEFA Convention League from the 2024/2025 season (six matches towards six totally different opponents within the competitors part). Each tournaments will function 36 groups taking part within the competitors part.
What is going to the calendar seem like for the brand new format of the three competitions?
- The Champions League and Europa League matches are scheduled from September to January, whereas the Europa Convention League matches happen from September to December. Every UEFA membership competitors has a novel match week, whereas the opposite two competitions haven’t any matches throughout that point.
- Throughout a normal week, Champions League matches are scheduled on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, whereas the Europa League and Europa Convention League matches happen on Thursdays.
- In the course of the unique week of the Champions League, the matches will happen on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
- In the course of the unique week of the Europa League, matches are scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday. In the course of the Europa Convention League week, matches are performed on Thursdays.
- Over the past matchday of every competitors part, all matches are performed concurrently.
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