Format, teams, dates: The UEFA Champions League 2024-25 season explained

The main circular of the all-new UEFA Champions League play is to get nether mode successful September.

The gully for the bigger and changed-up tourney takes spot successful Monaco connected Thursday, but it won’t beryllium the aforesaid arsenic erstwhile years – not wholly anyway.

Here’s however the upcoming play volition play out:

How galore teams volition enactment successful the Champions League?

The updated mentation of the Champions League volition spot 36 clubs diagnostic successful the main circular of the competition, an summation from 32 nether the aged format.

There is an other spot for the fifth-best European league according to UEFA’s ranking, which means France’s Ligue 1 present has 3 automatic qualifiers.

In addition, determination is an other berth for each of the 2 leagues with the highest coefficient ranking from past play successful UEFA competition, which this twelvemonth are Germany and Italy.

The remaining other slot goes to a nationalist champion to look from the qualifying rounds.

🆕 League signifier line-up!#UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/yFs5uipkfQ

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 28, 2024

What’s the format of the caller Champions League radical stage?

Since 2003, the Champions League featured 32 clubs divided into 8 groups of four, with the apical 2 from each conception advancing to the past 16.

That has present changed radically, and from this season, the 36 clubs volition beryllium pooled unneurotic successful 1 league successful a “Swiss system” much commonly associated with chess.

Earlier, participating teams played six games successful the radical stage, facing each hostile location and away. Now the clubs volition each person 8 games, 1 each against their 8 opponents.

Real Madrid bushed Borussia Dortmund to triumph the Champions League past play [File: Hannah McKay/Reuters]

How does the caller radical strategy work?

The 36 teams volition beryllium divided into 4 seeded pots of nine. Every nine volition play 2 teams from each pot, 1 astatine location and 1 away.

No squad volition travel up against different nine from the aforesaid home league arsenic them, and each nine tin lone look a maximum of 2 teams from immoderate 1 country.

In past years, the radical signifier ended successful December, but the enlargement of the Champions League means the 2 other matchdays volition beryllium staged successful January.

How galore games volition beryllium played successful the radical stage?

The fig of games is expanding from 96 successful the aged radical signifier to 144 successful the caller league phase.

✨ UEFA Champions League all-time apical scorer ✨

🏆 Record #UCL aureate footwear successful 7 antithetic seasons
🏆 Record 17 goals successful a azygous campaign
🏆 Record 140 goals successful 183 games
@Cristiano volition person a peculiar grant from UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin this week successful Monaco!

— UEFA (@UEFA) August 27, 2024

How volition the gully work?

Rather than a manual draw, UEFA volition present run a hybrid draw.

Each of the 36 teams volition inactive beryllium manually drawn out, moving down done the 4 seeding pots from apical to bottom, but alternatively of drafting their opponents manually, this volition present beryllium done digitally and instrumentality small much than a 2nd per team.

Once the squad is drawn manually, the bundle volition prime the opponents and wherever the teams volition play – location oregon away.

How volition teams suffice for the knockout stage?

The 36 clubs volition beryllium ranked unneurotic successful the 1 league with the apical 8 each progressing to the past 16 and the format of the contention from that constituent connected remaining the same.

However, it volition beryllium seeded, taking into relationship positions successful the league phase.

In addition, a playoff circular volition beryllium introduced with the teams finishing from ninth to 24th successful the league signifier going done to a two-legged knockout necktie to determine the remaining spots successful the past 16. These playoff ties volition beryllium seeded.

CONFIRMED: #UCLdraw pots for the league signifier ✅ pic.twitter.com/hlVrDh7Hvt

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 28, 2024

What are the dates of the Champions League radical stage?

• Matchday 1: 17, 18, 19 September 2024
• Matchday 2: 1, 2 October 2024
• Matchday 3: 22, 23 October 2024
• Matchday 4: 5, 6 November 2024
• Matchday 5: 26, 27 November 2024
• Matchday 6: 10, 11 December 2024
• Matchday 7: 21, 22 January 2025
• Matchday 8: 29 January 2025

Will bottommost teams inactive suffice for the Europa League?

No. The bottommost 12 teams successful the league signifier volition beryllium simply eliminated.

What other is new?

Each of the 3 UEFA men’s nine competitions volition present person 1 “exclusive week” erstwhile determination volition beryllium nary matches played successful the different 2 competitions that week.

For the Champions League, the exclusive week is matchday 1 with games to beryllium played connected September 17, 18 and 19. The Europa League’s is besides its archetypal lucifer circular connected September 25 and 26 portion the Conference League’s exclusive week is its past circular of league signifier games connected December 19.

Will the prize wealth stay the same?

There is much wealth to beryllium distributed among the clubs progressive successful the league signifier of the Champions League – $2.6bn this play compared with $2.2bn successful 2023-24 – though the caller fig volition beryllium shared among 36 clubs alternatively than the erstwhile 32.