The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League will see a significant overhaul, with an expanded competition featuring 36 teams, up from the previous 32. The change includes an extra automatic qualification spot for France’s Ligue 1, which now has three teams qualifying directly. Additional spots are awarded to the two leagues with the highest UEFA coefficients from last season, currently Germany and Italy, and another slot is available for a national champion emerging from the qualifying rounds.
No More Group Stages
Gone are the traditional eight groups of four teams. Instead, the new format introduces a single league of 36 teams using the “Swiss system,” commonly associated with chess tournaments. Each team will play eight matches against opponents from four seeded pots, with matchups based on seeding to ensure a mix of top-tier and lower-ranked teams. Clubs will face two teams from each pot, one at home and one away, increasing the number of games from six to eight for each team. Notably, no team will face another from its own domestic league, and no club can play more than two teams from the same country.
More Matches, More Action
The league phase will now consist of 144 games, up from the previous 96 group-stage matches, spreading the competition over more matchdays and extending into January. This format promises more high-profile clashes earlier in the tournament, a move UEFA believes will captivate fans and stave off the threat of a breakaway Super League.
New Knockout Round
The top eight teams from the league phase will advance directly to the last 16, maintaining the traditional knockout structure from that point forward. Positions in the league will determine seeding. Teams finishing between 9th and 24th will compete in a new play-off round, featuring two-legged ties to secure the remaining eight spots in the last 16. The bottom 12 teams will be eliminated outright, with no fallback into the Europa League as in previous years.
This expanded format promises more excitement, drama, and high-stakes football, as Europe’s elite clubs vie for the coveted Champions League title under the new rules.