Changes proposed for Champions League format
UEFA and the ECA are preparing changes to the UEFA Champions League format starting in the 2024/25 season.
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There have been many rumors regarding changes to the UEFA Champions League format starting in the 2024/25 season. The idea of a UEFA Super League, which would only consist of Europe’s elite teams from Europe’s elite domestic leagues, was pushed by many of the prestigious clubs across the continent, however, that option looks to be off the table.
The UEFA Super League would have followed a similar format to the current EuroLeague, Europe’s premier basketball competition, where most teams are guaranteed a place in the competition via a contract. As a result, their place in Europe would be independent of their finish in their respective domestic league. With this format proposed for the UEFA Champions League in 2024, the leagues themselves, such as the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, and Spanish La Liga, were highly against this idea. Had this new Champions/Super League format been adapted, the interest in domestic football would drastically decrease, similar to how the importance of domestic basketball has fallen off across Europe over the years.
As a result of the backlash to their original proposal, UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) have proposed two new formats to the UEFA Champions League to take effect in 2024. These formats would increase the number of games to at least 17 for those teams qualifying for the Champions League Final. Currently, it takes at least 13 games to reach the final, six in the group stages, two in the last 16, two in the quarter-finals, two in the semi-finals, and one in the final.
An increase in the number of games will increase revenue for Europe’s biggest clubs themselves (ticket sales, TV deals), but also for the competition (i.e., UEFA), resulting in a win-win situation for both parties.
Proposal one – Group stage in the quarter-finals
The first format proposal includes changing the quarter-final stage of the competition to a group stage format. All other aspects of the competition would remain the same.
This would mean that the original group stage will continue to consist of 32 teams, split into eight groups of four teams each. Each team will play the other teams in their group in home and away fixtures (total of six fixtures), and the top two teams from each group will advance to the round of 16. The round of 16 will be played in the current two-legged knockout format, with eight teams advancing to the quarter-finals.
The eight teams in the quarter-finals will be split into two groups of four teams, again playing each team within a group in home and away matches (totaling six fixtures per team). The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
The semi-finals will follow the current two-legged knockout format, with the two winners advancing to the final. The final will be a single fixture.
This change would mean that teams advancing to the final will need to play 17 matches in the competition that season, as opposed to the current 13-game setup. This includes six games in the group stages, two games in the round of 16, six matches in the quarter-finals, two games in the semi-finals, and one match in the final.
Proposal two – More teams and groups of six
The second proposal includes increasing the number of teams in the Champions League group stages from 32 to 48. This would allow more teams to qualify for the event, which could prove beneficial for Greece’s clubs in the long run.
The 48-team group stage format proposal would see the clubs separated into eight groups of six teams. Each team will play the others within their group in home and away fixtures (ten matches each), and the top two teams from each group will advance to the round of 16. The round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals would follow the current two-legged knockout format with the final consisting of a single game fixture.
There is also the proposal from France, which includes an increase from 32 to 36 teams, with six groups consisting of six teams each. Again, each team would play the others in their group in home and away fixtures (ten fixtures per team), and the top two teams from each group would advance plus the four best third-placed teams to make the field of the last 16. The round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals would follow the current two-legged knockout format with the final consisting of a single game fixture.
In both scenarios, the teams that advance to the final will play 17 fixtures, including ten in the group stages, two in the round of 16, two in the quarter-finals, two in the semi-finals, and one in the final.
It is worth noting that there was no mention if teams finishing third, fourth, fifth, or sixth in the group stages would continue to the UEFA Europa League or to the new UEFA Europa League 2 competitions. Some teams from the Champions League will likely continue to Europe’s second and third-tier competitions. Currently, the third-placed teams in the Champions League group stages advance to the UEFA Europa League round of 32 while the fourth-placed teams are eliminated from Europe.
A change in the group stage format would bring major changes to the current footballing calendar, and as a result, leagues with multiple domestic competitions have opposed this format. This includes England, which has various domestic competitions, such as the League Cup. If this new Champions League format is adopted, likely, teams competing in the Premier League will no longer compete in the League Cup.
