The UEFA Champions League is set to have its draw for the 2024/25 season but Europe’s top club tournament will see a major overhaul going into its 70th season. Originally called the European Cup, this tournament was started in 1955 but was later renamed to the UEFA Champions League from the 1992-93 season.
Up until 1999-2000, the Champions League featured 24 teams which was later increased to 32 teams from the 2003-2004 season. Now, starting this campaign, the top tier of European football is going to see the participation of 36 teams in a “Swiss Model“.
Instead of being pitted into various groups, all these teams will now be placed in a single group. And from there, teams for the Round of 16 are going to be selected based on what seems to be a bit of a complex and lengthy process.
The new UEFA Champions League format simplified:
1.The group stages will now see the involvement of 36 teams instead of 32.
2. All the teams will be placed in a single league table.
3. Instead of 6 matches, each team will now play 8 matches against 8 different opponents. Out of these 8 games, 4 will be at home and 4 will be away fixtures.
4. The matchups will be determined by seedings and rankings and teams will be ranked in one league table, based on a Swiss Model.
5. The top 8 teams in the league table will automatically qualify for the Round of 16.
6. Teams which finish 9th to 24th will enter a two-legged play-off round to fill the remaining 8 spots in the RO16.
7. From the Round of 16 onwards no changes have been made which means the tournament will follow the traditional format of the two-legged ties up until the semi-final.
When is the UEFA Champions League draw?
The Champions League draw for the 2024/25 season will take place on Thursday, August 29, 2024, at 5:00 PM BST and for the first time, AI assistance will be taken for the seedings and the matches. It is being claimed that if the draw and seedings are done manually, it will take a few hours to complete the process which is why UEFA are going to automate it.
When will the league phase matches be played?
Matchday 1: 17–19 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
Where will the final be played?
The UEFA Champions League final for the 2024/25 season will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
Which teams from Europe’s top five leagues have qualified for the group stages?
The major teams which have qualified for the UCL group stages are as follows:
England: Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa.
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid.
Italy: Inter, AC Milan, Juventus, Atalanta.
France: Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest
Germany: Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern, Leipzig.
