All about the new Champions League format
The 2024/2025 edition of the Champions League will be radically different. The kick-off is this Tuesday, with six first-leg matches of the first qualifying round. A BOLA, with a series of questions and answers, explains how everything will change and why.
– What will the new Champions League format be like?
– The fundamental change is from the group stage, which will no longer have 32 teams, as was the case since the 1999/2000 season, but will now have 36 clubs. And it will no longer be a group stage – UEFA calls it a league stage. The 36 clubs will play eight games each, four at home and four away, each time against different opponents. There will be a single classification, with the top eight teams qualifying directly for the round of 16 and those placed between 9th and 24th playing a two-legged play-off to find the other eight teams that qualify for the round of 16. From then on, the traditional format will return, with the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals all over two legs before the final.
– Who will these four additional places go to in the first phase?
– One of them goes to the third-placed team of the country that obtained 5th place in the UEFA rankings . Until now, this country (which has been France in recent years) qualified two clubs directly for the group stage and the 3rd-placed team normally went to the third qualifying round (sometimes they went directly to the group stage, but we’ll get to that later…). Now, the 5th-placed country in the rankings has three direct places in the Champions League and the fourth-placed team in their respective league goes to the third qualifying round. The rest of the accesses by country remain the same, except for the stage in which some clubs that participated in the qualifying rounds enter the competition. For example, until now the champion of the 13th-placed country in the rankings entered the third qualifying round and now goes directly to the fourth, or play-off . The second additional place in the 36 league stages will go to the champions path of the qualifying rounds – the champions who do not have direct access to the group stage (from 10th place in the rankings ) play each other, in a separate path from the second, third and fourth placed teams who go to the preliminary rounds. Until now, this champions path qualified four clubs for the Champions League group stage; now, five teams will gain entry through this route. Finally, the two extra places in the 36 will go to the two countries with the best UEFA rankings in the previous year – that is, instead of using the five-year coefficient, in these cases only the previous season will count. These places will go to the best placed clubs in their respective leagues who have not gained direct entry to the Champions League.
– Will the format of the Europa League and Conference League also change?
– Yes. Just like in the Champions League, the group stage is replaced by a league stage, with a single classification. And always with 36 clubs and a play-off for the clubs classified between 9th and 24th place before the round of 16. The Europa League is exactly the same as the Champions League, but in the Conference League there will be a nuance – in the league stage, each club will play only six games, instead of eight.
– And how are the additional places in these competitions allocated?
– Essentially, there are now more places available for the qualifying rounds and some clubs will now enter the competition later, or even in other competitions. In the Europa League, for example, the winner of the Cup from the seventh-ranked country ( currently Portugal), or the third-placed team in the championship if the Cup winner is one of the top two, will have direct access to the league stage, whereas until now they had to play in the play-offs . But the differences are mainly in the preliminary rounds. In the old Europa League format, only the winners of the Cups up to the 15th- ranked country had access – the rest went to the Conference League; from now on, all the Cup winners from the countries ranked between 8th and 33rd in the UEFA rankings will have access to the Europa League qualifying rounds (in different rounds) .
– Will Portugal then have more clubs in European competitions?
– No, on the contrary. As mentioned previously, only the 5th-placed team in the UEFA rankings gains an additional place, and in the Champions League – increasing the total from six to seven clubs in all competitions. The rest remain as before, only with changes in the competition phases in which they enter. And Portugal, by falling to seventh place in the rankings in 2023 , behind the Netherlands, now has only five places, and not six, as is the case with the sixth-placed team . The seventh-placed team, in theory, places the champion in the league phase of the Champions League; the runner-up in the third qualifying round of the Champions League; the winner of the Cup (or 3rd in the championship, if the Cup goes to one of the top two teams) in the league phase of the Europa League; the third-placed team in the championship (or 4th, if the Cup goes to one of the top three teams) in the second qualifying round of the Europa League; and the 4th in the championship (or 5th, if the Cup goes to one of the top four) in the second qualifying round of the Conference League. However, the failure to fill some places (such as the winners of the European competitions or, currently, the suspension of Russian clubs) may mean that clubs enter the competition later; the total number of clubs for a country can only be changed if a team wins one of the European competitions and would not have qualified for Europe through its championship or if it is one of the top two in the previous year’s ranking (which always grants an additional place in the Champions League, with the other entries remaining as they were before).
– As long as Portugal is in 7th place in the UEFA rankings , will the 2nd placed team in the championship always have to play in the Champions League qualifying rounds?
– Not necessarily. Firstly, Portugal could eventually be one of the two best countries in the previous year and thus secure one of the four new spots in the league stage (in 2024/2025 they will go to Italy and Germany). But there is also another scenario, which could happen as early as 2024: the winner of the Champions League and the winner of the Europa League from the previous year will continue to have a direct spot in the Champions League the following year. Until now, when these spots were not filled (because the winners of the European competitions had already qualified through their respective national championships), the spots were allocated to the countries with the best ranking that were in the qualifying rounds – in the case of the spot initially allocated to the winner of the Champions League, it went to the champion of the 11th placed team, who would thus avoid the play-off and go directly to the group stage; in the case of the winner of the Europa League, the unfilled spot would go to the third placed team from the country with the 5th best ranking (France, in recent years). But now UEFA has decided to change the way it fills these vacant places. If the Champions League winner has already qualified for the league stage of the following competition, through its championship, the place goes to the champion club that is in the qualifying rounds with the best ranking . And if the Europa League winner is already in the Champions League via its championship, the place in the league stage goes to the club with the best ranking of all those in the qualifying rounds, champions or not (with the caveat that a runner-up cannot be promoted if the champion is not there, which only applies to countries between 11th and 15th place in the UEFA rankings , the only ones with two clubs in the qualifying rounds). Portugal, through Benfica, will be able to benefit from this rule as early as 2024.
– If the Portuguese runner-up goes straight into the Champions League, does that open up a place in the qualifying rounds for the 3rd place in the championship?
– If this happens because the Champions League spot for the Europa League winner is not filled, no. When clubs are promoted to higher stages to fill exceptional spots (from winners of European competitions, for example), adjustments are made in the knockout rounds in which the clubs enter, and not in the competitions in which they enter. For example, in the Champions League, when one of the clubs that should have competed in the leagues gets direct access – this would be the scenario in which Benfica gets the spot not occupied by the Europa League winner – the rule is to reduce the number of clubs in the second qualifying round: in theory there should be six clubs, the runners-up from the countries ranked between 10th and 15th in the UEFA rankings , but in this case the two clubs with the best coefficient that should have played in that round only start the competition in the third qualifying round. As any change of this kind has a ladder effect, because those eliminated in the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League go through to the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League, meaning there would be one less team to be relegated, there may be a need to promote competitions, but if this were to happen, it would be from the Conference League to the Europa League. In 2023/2024, more because of the suspension of Russian clubs than because of these adjustments to the places, the winner of the Cup from the 16th- ranked country (the Czech Republic) entered the competition in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, instead of in the same round of the Conference League. But it was the only one that changed competition. There were, in fact, 26 clubs that started their participation in European competitions one round later than planned. On the other hand, if the Portuguese runner-up entered the Champions League directly because Portugal was one of the two countries with the best ranking in the previous year, then the third-placed team in the Portuguese League would already go through to the qualifying rounds. This benefit of an extra spot allows additional access to the Champions League and keeps all other spots as they were, but for the clubs classified one place lower in the championship.
– Why these format changes at this stage?
– UEFA club competitions operate in three-year cycles. As soon as the previous one ended in 2021, talks began to change the format, with pressure from the European Club Association (ECA) to create more places and greater competitiveness. UEFA agreed, under the umbrella of the Super League, but the truth is that while negotiations were still underway, the Super League was announced – which even led to changes in some of the planned plans. Initially, the two places that ended up being awarded based on last year’s country rankings were supposed to go to the clubs with the best rankings that had not qualified for the Champions League, for example.
– How will the draw for the league stage be made? Who plays against whom?
– As before, there will be four pots (now with nine teams each), with the clubs divided according to their ranking . However, now each club will play two games (one at home and one away) against a team from each pot, whereas until now they had always avoided teams from their own pot. In other words, the pot to which they belong is no longer an advantage in theory – all clubs will play two games, one at home and one away, against pots 1, 2, 3 and 4. The aim is simply to balance the calendar, so that the teams will, in theory, have opponents of similar strength, especially since there will be a single ranking at the end. This will also allow for more high-impact games in the initial phase – until now, the main European clubs only faced each other in the knockout phase, because in the group stage they were in the same pot. In principle, clubs from the same country cannot face each other and each team can face a maximum of two clubs of the same nationality, but in extreme cases there may have to be exceptions.
– With two more games in the first phase, what will the calendar be like?
– The big difference is that there will now be two dates in January. The rest remains basically the same as before: qualifying rounds between the beginning of July and the end of August; then, two Champions League rounds between each international break, always with a week between them. In 2024/2025, the first six rounds will be from 17 to 19 September (1st), 1 and 2 October (2nd), 22 and 23 October (3rd), 5 and 6 November (4th), 26 and 27 November (5th) and 10 and 11 December (6th). The two extra rounds will then be in January – 21 and 22 (7th) and 29 (8th). Then, while until now the Champions League round of 16 was divided into four weeks, from now on the first two equivalent dates will be for the play-offs (in 2024/2005 on 11/12 and 18/19 February) and only the last two for the round of 16 (4/5 and 11/12 March) – in fact, as was already the case in the Europa League and the Conference League, which had this play-off before the round of 16, but involving the third-placed teams that were eliminated from the group stage of the competition above. Then, from the quarter-finals onwards, the traditional dates will follow, starting in April.
– With games in January, can the clubs reinforce themselves for the last two rounds?
– No. The list of players submitted by September 3rd is valid for the entire first phase. A player signed on January 1st will no longer be able to play in the 7th and 8th rounds of the Champions League. The three changes permitted on this list can only be made between the end of the league phase and February 6th.
– Are the game times still the same?
– Yes. In the Champions League, there will be two games starting at 5:45 p.m. (mainland Portugal time) and the rest at 8 p.m., on each day of the competition, except for the last round, which must all start at the same time (8 p.m.). In the play-offs between the teams that finish between 9th and 24th in the league phase and in the round of 16, there may be games at both times. From the quarter-finals onwards, all games must be at 8 p.m.
– With a single classification, there will probably be several clubs with the same points at the end of the eight games. How are the ties broken?
– In order, the following criteria are applied for tie-breaking purposes between teams with the same points: best goal difference; highest number of goals scored; highest number of goals scored away from home; highest number of wins; highest number of wins away from home; highest total number of points of the opponents played; best goal difference of the opponents played; highest number of goals scored by the opponents played; best disciplinary record (yellow card is worth one point and red card is worth three); best UEFA ranking . Head-to-head record disappears as a tie-breaking criterion, because there will be cases of tied teams that have not played each other and even those that have played have only played one game, which would theoretically benefit those who had played at home.
– Why is there three days in the first round of the Champions League league stage and only one in the last?
– UEFA has decided to reserve an exclusive week of the calendar for a competition, in order to increase its visibility. In the case of the Champions League, it is the first week – that week there is neither the Europa League nor the Conference League. Therefore, the games will be played between Tuesday and Thursday, when they are normally only Tuesday and Wednesday, with Thursdays being the Europa League and Conference League. The Europa League will also have an exclusive week, precisely the following week, at the end of September, with games on Wednesday and Thursday, and not just Thursday. The exclusive week for the Conference League will be in December, after the sixth round of the Champions League and the Europa League, and will close the league phase of the third European competition (which does not start in January). Regarding the last round of each competition, it is expected that all the games will be on the same day and at the same time. With a single classification and total goal difference acting as a tiebreaker, UEFA wanted to avoid clubs going into the last game to know what result they needed. And if everything goes according to expectations, it will be a crazy last round, with constant fluctuations in the classification and qualification positions depending on the results of the 18 simultaneous games.
– And how will the draw be for the knockout stage?
– The usual UEFA principles remain in place – the higher-ranked teams will play the second legs at home, both in the play-offs (9th to 16th in the league phase at home in the second leg against 17th to 24th) and in the round of 16 (1st to 8th at home in the second leg against the teams that qualified from the previous round). The new feature is that a draw is planned based on the first-phase classification: in the play-offs , the clubs classified in 9th and 10th place in the league phase will play against those who finish in 23rd and 24th (to be determined by the draw); 11th and 12th against 21st and 22nd; 13th and 14th against 19th and 20th; 15th and 16th against 17th and 18th. Then, in the round of 16, the 1st and 2nd placed teams from the league stage will face the two lowest-ranked play-off winners from the league stage; and the 7th and 8th placed teams will play against the best teams from the play-offs . The aim is to reward the best-ranked teams from the league stage, theoretically giving them an easier path.
– Who is eliminated in the group stage, or now league stage, of the Champions League goes down to the Europa League?
– No. With the creation of the play-off between the 9th and 24th placed teams, there is no longer any such move to the lower competition – and the same applies to the Europa League and the Conference League. In fact, this drop to the competition applied in practice to the clubs that finished the group stage between 17th and 24th. For 12 clubs (out of 36) placed between 25th and 36th, the end of the league stage means definitive elimination from European competitions. The move to the competition below (with the exception of those eliminated in the first qualifying round of the Champions League; these go directly to the second qualifying round of the Conference League and do not have the possibility of going to the Europa League) is limited to the qualifying rounds only.
– With all these changes, will the calculation of UEFA country and club rankings also change?
– Yes, and radically. The principles remain the same: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw. In the qualifying rounds, 1 point for a win and 0.5 for a draw, but in these cases these results only count towards the country’s ranking , not the club’s ranking . Clubs that do not reach the group or league stages receive points for the stage they reached in the Conference League (to be left out of European competitions they must have been relegated there): 1 point for those eliminated in the first qualifying round, 1.5 for those eliminated in the second qualifying round, 2 for those eliminated in the third qualifying round and 2.5 for those eliminated in the Conference League play-offs . What has changed substantially are the bonus points. From now on, the final classification in the league stage will correspond to a certain bonus. In the Champions League, 12 points (in addition to those gained from each win and draw) for those who finish in 1st place, with a reduction of 0.250 points per position, up to 24th place, which receives 6.250. The clubs that finish between 25th and 36th place all receive 6 points. In the Europa League, the team that finishes first in the league phase receives 6 bonus points, with a reduction of 0.250 points per position, up to 24th place, which receives 0.250. The clubs that finish between 25th and 36th place are not entitled to a bonus, they only add the points obtained from wins and draws – but with a minimum of 3 points for the ranking , even if they do not achieve that many. In the Conference League, the 1st in the league stage receives 4 bonus points, with a decrease of 0.250 points up to the 9th placed team, which receives 2. From then on, and up to the 24th placed team, the decrease is 0.125 points. The 10th placed team receives 1.875, the 24th placed team receives 0.125. As in the Europa League, the clubs that finish between 25th and 36th place are not entitled to bonus points, but they also receive a minimum of 2,500 points, even if they do not reach that value with wins and draws (so that they receive at least the same as those eliminated in the play-offs ). Then, in the play-offs for the 9th to 24th placed teams in all competitions, wins and draws do not count towards the club rankings , only towards the country rankings. Finally, each stage reached from the round of 16 onwards is worth an additional bonus – 1.5 points in the Champions League, 1 in the Europa League and 0.5 in the Conference League.
– Why all this differentiation in bonuses between the events?
– In short, UEFA tried to correct a problem that had already been noted before, with the Europa League, but which had worsened with the creation of the Conference League: for clubs and countries, it was more rewarding, from a ranking point of view , to drop to the competition below – the potential to earn points was much greater. In fact, the campaigns of Dutch clubs in the Conference League are the main explanation for the Netherlands overtaking Portugal in the UEFA rankings . In 2022/2023, AZ Alkmaar, eliminated in the semi-finals of the Conference League, earned more points than FC Porto, who were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League; the previous year, Feyenoord, the runners-up in that Conference League (beaten by Mourinho’s Roma), not only earned more points than Benfica, who reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but were only beaten in points by six clubs – five from the Champions League and the winner of the Europa League. With the change in the calculation system, UEFA intends to value the competitiveness of the main competitions and stop rewarding those who did well in a clearly weaker competition.
