What to Expect from the New Champions League Format

Posted on August 15, 2024 by SoccerPunter

The UEFA Champions League is by far one of the biggest tournaments in the world. It is one of the highest accolades that any European football club can wish to achieve. Although before you start looking at the champions league odds for who you think might win this season, it’s important to note that this season in the UCL there are some changes to the format of the competition, which may not necessarily affect the chances of some teams winning; however, it is still important to note what the changes are. And so, what’s the big difference? Well, for years, the Champions League has been limited to 32 teams, but instead there are 36 teams.

How are the teams eliminated?

And so how does this work mathematically? As the first thing that you may think of, if there are 32 teams, traditionally, this would be cut down to the last 16 for the knockout stages, then to the quarterfinals, semifinals, and then eventually the final. However, the first thought that enters your head is that if there are 36 teams, this can’t be the way that it breaks down. And you would be correct. Instead of the competition starting out as it usually would with eight groups of four teams battling it out, instead, all 36 clubs competing in the new format of the Champions League will compete in a single league.

How many qualifying games?

The different approach to this in terms of qualifying rounds is that each of the teams that qualify for the tournament will play a total of eight games in the qualifying stages. Which, of course, is two more than the previous format, where they would play a total of six games, one home and one away, against each of the other three teams in their respective group. And so this is something that teams are going to have to bear in mind: there will be extra games to contend with, which involves both four home and four away games. For those teams that are regular contenders in their domestic tournaments, this is certainly something to keep in mind, as it could affect their team’s fatigue.

How do they qualify?

So, how does qualification work? Well, in terms of the league format, after all teams have played their four qualifying home and four qualifying away games, the top eight teams will automatically qualify for what would be the last-16, and this is where the format goes back to the division of two knockout stages. And so those who end up within the places of 9th to 24th will instead go to a ‘play off’ stage where they will have to play 2 games to qualify for the last eight places in the last 16. And unfortunately, those who are in the bottom eight positions will be automatically relegated.

What’s the knock-on effect of the calendar?

In terms of the calendar of the whole competition, overall, with these extra games, how does that affect what was a routine, traditional schedule? Well, because of the extra games, whereas the qualifying games would usually be wrapped up before Christmas, this instead will push it into the new year, with each of the teams having to play the extra two games at specified dates within January. Following this, the knockout stages of the competition remain relatively the same; however, for those two teams who are lucky enough to get to the final, that is a total of 13 games that they will have played on their journey there. 

In Summary

Hopefully, this has made the new format of the Champions League clear for you to understand. And it does serve the benefit of making this prestigious competition more accessible, with an extra four places for teams that qualify for the competition itself. The only thing to keep in mind, as we have pointed out, is the extra games.