Starting from the 2024/25 season, the UEFA Champions League will have a new format, shaking up how teams compete in Europe’s premier club football tournament, the UCL. Here’s a breakdown of the key changes:
The traditional group stage, where 32 teams were divided into eight groups, is replaced. Instead, 36 teams will compete in a single league phase. Each team will play eight matches against eight different opponents, split evenly between home and away games.
The way teams qualify remains similar to the traditional format, with spots still awarded based on domestic league performance and UEFA rankings. However, four additional spots are introduced, including one for a third-placed team from a fifth-ranked association and another for a domestic champion.
The access list will stay the same as for the current season, with the additional four seats available in the UCL 2024/25 being distributed as follows:
This spot will go to the club that is rated third in the association’s championship and fifth in the access list, as defined by the UEFA association club coefficient rankings.
This spot will be allocated to a domestic champion by increasing the number of clubs qualifying through the Champions path of the competition’s qualifying process, which will include four qualifying rounds.
Slots three and four will be awarded to the associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the previous season. Those two associations will each receive one automatic spot in the league phase (‘European Performance Spot’) for the team ranked second-best in their domestic league behind those that have already qualified directly for the league stage.
The top eight teams from the league phase automatically advance to the round of 16. Teams ranking 9th to 24th will enter a playoff to secure the remaining eight spots. Teams finishing 25th or lower will be eliminated altogether.
The matchups for the knockout phase will be partly determined by the league phase rankings, adding more intrigue and competitiveness.
Matches will be played between September and January, with each competition (Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League) having designated matchweeks to avoid overlap. The final will still be held on a Saturday.
