The Champions League is the premier European club competition. Previously known as the European Cup, it was revamped in the early 1990s with a new group phase format and a single knockout round of 16. The competition has since evolved to its current 32-team roster.
UEFA has announced the 2024-25 season will be the first in which the Champions League will feature 36 teams during the league phase (former group stage). The tournament will continue to use two-legged matches through to the semifinals and one-legged final, but a key change is that clubs will play eight games against each other – four home and four away. Those finishing in the top eight will qualify directly for the last 16, while those placing between nine and 24 will compete in a two-legged play-off. Teams will also no longer drop into the Europa League, and if they do not make the top 24, they will be out of Europe altogether.
The change means that each game will have the potential to dramatically alter a team’s fate, right up until the very last matchday of the league phase. Winning or losing one of those games could be the difference between making the last 16 and being eliminated from Europe altogether, or competing in a play-off against a team from a lower league.
The format will also see each team placed into four seeding pots, ordered based on their performance in Europe over the past five seasons. The holders and the champions of each country will automatically be in pot one, while the remaining spots are ranked based on their European coefficient. The top three in each pot will be joined by the best second-place finishers from each of the other four groups.