Official: UEFA has announced the new format of the Eurotournaments

The UEFA Executive Committee on Tuesday in Vienna approved the final format and the list of access to European club competitions from the 2024-25 season after its decision on April 19, 2021 to introduce the so-called “Swiss system”. The 2024-25 Champions League will begin with an 8-day mini league, in which 36 teams will participate (instead of the current 32, divided into 8 groups playing a 6-day league). A controversial reform before it was born.

The main changes refer to the reduction from 10 to 8 games in the Champions League and the change of the criteria for allocating two to four additional places, as access based on the coefficient of clubs has been removed. Through this, it aims to promote open competitions and protect national leagues.

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The eight Champions League group matches will be played in ten European weeks given the decision made in April 2021. The Champions League, Europa League and Conference League will enjoy one week of exclusivity on the calendar.

The four additional places created by the increase from 32 to 36 teams in the Champions League league stage will be allocated as follows:

• One place will be awarded to the club ranked third in the championship from the association to fifth place in the UEFA ranking of national associations.

• One place will be awarded to a national champion, which will increase from four to five the number of clubs that qualify on the so -called Route of Champions.

• The last two spots will go to the federations with the best collective performance of their clubs in the previous season (total number of points earned divided by the number of participating clubs). Those two associations will earn a place for the highest ranked club in the domestic league behind the Champions League positions. For example, at the end of the current season, the two associations that add a club to the Champions League, based on the collective performance of their clubs, are England and the Netherlands.

• The UEFA Executive Committee has reaffirmed that all matches before the final will continue to be played on weekdays, recognizing the importance of the national calendar of matches across Europe.

With the total number of teams ranging from 32 to 36 in the Champions League, the biggest change is the transformation of the traditional group stage to a league stage that includes all participating teams. Each club is guaranteed at least 8 league stage games against 8 different opponents (four home and four away) instead of the previous six games against three teams, played at home and away.

The top eight teams in the league will automatically qualify for the knockout stage, while teams ranked ninth through twenty-four will play a two-legged tie to ensure passage to the round of 16 of the competition.

Similar format changes will also apply to the Europa League (8 games at the league stage) and the Conference League (6 games at the league stage) and both will also include 36 teams at the league stage.