Champions League: The new format of the UEFA tournament explained after the changes – International Football – Sports

European football will be renewed. at least that’s how it is uefa After revealing the new format that Champions League The following season begins, leaving the iconic group format behind.

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The world’s most important club tournament will no longer exist as we know it today, following a decision uefa Expanding the number of participating teams and increasing the total number of matches in a tremendous season for players, coaches and clubs.

“To ensure that the new 2024/25 format delivers the best for clubs, players and fans uefa Its design is based on extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the European football community. Following the decision, the final format, access list and calendar of European club competitions were approved on May 10, 2022. uefa “To introduce a new competition system on April 19, 2021,” the governing body said.

How does the form change?

“Fundamental change of the reforms announced by uefa executive committee The current format of the group stage is abandoned. The current Champions League season features 32 participants divided into eight groups of four each. Starting from the 2024/25 season, the 36 participating clubs will compete in the league stage of the Champions League (the former group stage) to give four more teams the chance to compete against the best clubs in Europe. These 36 teams will participate in a single league competition in which they will all compete in a common classification,” explains uefa,

With this format, teams will play eight games in the league stage (formerly group stage). “They will no longer play three rivals twice (home and away), but will face eight different teams, half of whom will play half at home and half away. To determine the eight rivals, teams will initially be drawn into pots of four. Each team will then face two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home and one away.”

And UEFA adds: “In this way, clubs will have the opportunity to face a greater number of rivals and will increase the chances for fans to see the best teams face each other in the early stages of the competition. This will also provide an advantage.” More competitive matches for all clubs.

classified

“Qualification for the Champions League will remain open and will depend on the final position of the clubs in the previous season’s domestic competitions combined with each association’s position in the club coefficient classification by association. The basis of the entry list will remain the same as for the current season, and The four additional places available in 2024/25 will be allocated as follows:

First place: This place will go to the club ranked fifth in the third place access list in the Federation Championship, which is determined by the coefficient ranking of clubs by the Federation. uefa,

Second place: This place is awarded to the national champion, increasing the number of clubs classified from four to five through the champion route of the competition’s qualification process, which will consist of four qualifying rounds.

Third and Fourth places: These places will be awarded to the associations with the best collective performance of their clubs in the previous season (i.e. the coefficient of the clubs by association from the previous season, which is based on the total number of club coefficient points obtained) for each club in a federation. divided by the number of clubs participating in that federation).

“Each of these two federations will grant an automatic place to the highest ranked club in their national league in the league stage (‘European Performance Place’) behind the clubs that have already qualified directly for the league stage. “

round of 16

The results of each match will decide the overall standings of the new league, with three points awarded for a win and one point for a draw. “The top eight teams will automatically advance to the round of 16, while the teams ranked between 9th and 24th will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the round of 16 of the competition. Teams placed 25º or lower will be terminated without access UEFA Europa League.

In the new format, all teams will qualify together in the same league, meaning there will be more to play for until the final night of the league stage.

In the play-off knockout stage, teams ranked between 9th and 16th will be seeded in the draw, meaning they will face a team ranked between 17th and 24th, which is, in theory, at home. The eight clubs that win these qualifying rounds will advance to the Round of 16, where they will face one of the top eight finishers, who will be seeded in the Round of 16.

“To strengthen the synergy between the league stage and the knockout stage, and to provide greater playing incentive during the league stage, the knockout stage pairings will also be partly determined by the league stage classification, with the exception of a draw. Along with that will also determine and find out the teams’ path to the finals.

From the round of 16 onwards, the competition follows the existing format of a knockout round leading up to a final at a selected neutral venue. uefa,

“Recognizing the importance of national match schedules across Europe, all matches leading up to the final will continue to be played midweek, with the final continuing to be played on a Saturday.”

It should be remembered that the Champions League matches will be played between September and January and will not be played simultaneously with either of the other two UEFA competitions (Europa League and Conference League). Each will be played in a different week.

Benefits of the new Champions League

The new league format will include more European teams in each competition and allow fans to not only watch more top European matches, but also see matches played earlier in the competition.

The new format will establish a greater competitive balance between all teams, giving each of them the possibility of facing opponents of similar competitive level throughout the league stage.

Every match matters. The new league format will ensure that every result has the potential to radically change team positions leading up to the final matchday. Winning or losing the last match of the league stage can be the difference between a team qualifying directly for the Round of 16, entering the play-offs, or being permanently eliminated from the tournament.

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