UEFA’s board of directors has approved the new format of the Champions League, which will start from the 2024-25 season. In the so-called “Swiss system”, which stretches from 32 teams to 36 teams, the biggest change will be the transformation of the traditional group stage into a single League stage that includes all participating teams, eliminating the coefficient access.
In this new Champions League plan, the opposite of what the idea of the European Super League advocates, priority is given to sporting values to compete.
answer Alexander Ceferin to that project that is still rising Florentine Perez (Madrid), Joan Laporta (Barça) and Andrea Agnelli (Juventus). Also, UEFA reserved “just one week” on the calendar with the idea of hosting a ‘final four’ where the champion would be determined, similar to the one used in Lisbon-2020, then pushed by covid so it was welcomed. Eight instead of the four clubs that the European organization now recommends.
However, these ‘last four’ have not yet been officially decided. Also, after listening to all the players, UEFA dropped the two decisions it wanted 10 games per club in its first project (it will now be eight games due to pressure from the Spanish LaLiga and the English Premier) and for the Champions League, the two that will go to the two best-ranked Leagues in the previous season. Eliminates arbitrary ordering.
Eight different opponents
Madrid is UEFA’s answer to the Super League, which is still defended by Barça and Juventus and has grown from 32 teams to 36 teams, so each team will be guaranteed at least eight matches in the League stage, which includes all participating teams. and will be played against eight different opponents (four home and four away) instead of the previous six matches played against three teams played away and away.
UEFA reminded that the top eight teams in this League will “automatically” qualify for the qualifying rounds, while the teams between the ninth and the twenty-fourth will play a two-legged draw to secure their place in the league. those eighth.
In this sense, the UEFA executive committee has guaranteed that, yes, all matches will be played during the week, except for the final, if the model of bringing four clubs together in the same city is finally adopted. Therefore, not every country will have weekend matches to respect their Leagues.
“The format chosen will strike the right balance and improve the competitive bottom line and generate strong revenue”
This change to the Champions League format will also apply to the Europa League (eight games in the League stage) and the Conference League (six games in the League stage). Both competitions will feature 36 teams in these new leagues.
“UEFA has demonstrated our full commitment to respecting the core values of sport and supporting the fundamental principle of open competitions, with a ranking based on sporting merit, in full compliance with the values and the European sport model. Supportive” , provided Alexander CeferinHe is the head of the European body that changed the format, which will step in in two years to compete in the Super League, which Madrid, Barça and Juventus still defend.
“The chosen format will strike the right balance and will improve the competitiveness and generate a solid income,” said the UEFA president, always emphasizing that “the ranking will continue to be based solely on sporting performance and the dream to participate”. continue to be for all clubs”. In this way, Ceferin defends the new Champions League format against the elite and elite model of the Super League.
Source: Informacion
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.