Powerful changes are coming for Champions League 2024-25. This Friday (12 noon) the draw for the quarterfinals and semifinals of the last edition will be held in Nyon with the format implemented since 2003-04 with eight groups and knockouts starting in the round of 16. Starting next season, the revolution, with a single classification league of 36 teams and eight days Instead of six in the current group stage, it will also be seen in the first draw of August 29, 2024. The hype is over to decide the rivals and it is a computer that will decide which eight teams (four at home and four away) each of the 36 participants will face.
Giorgio MarchettiUEFA deputy general secretary and director of football, explained in a media briefing that it is a computer program from a company based in Hertfordshire (England) the puzzle solver involved doing the draw manually. According to UEFA, it This can take between three and four hours, also requires 900 balls to generate matchups and avoid matches between clubs from the same country. so, in 35 minutesthe average time for a group stage draw at the moment, The league calendar with the same classification will be decided.
To maintain a minimum part of the draw ceremony, each team’s balls from the pot will be drawn, but it will be the ‘software’, which will have another two backups in case the main one fails, which will allocate the enemy from each other. pot The procedure, as announced by UEFA, will be administered by Ernst & Youngone of the largest global auditors that guarantees transparency and avoids speculation.
1
Four pots of nine teams
It is worth remembering that starting with the next edition of Champions League, the 36 teams will be divided into four pots of nine clubs each ordered by their UEFA coefficient. Within bass drum 1 No longer will there be Champions League and Europa League champions alongside those from the best national leagues. At the moment, according to the UEFA ranking and their current position in their domestic championship, it will consist of Manchester City, Bayern, Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool, Inter, Leipzig, Roma and Barcelona. So, on Barça You can, for example, play at home against Bavaria and fighting him Liverpool. And that will be decided by a computer. Their other six opponents are two from Pot 2 (one home and one away), two from Pot 3 (one home and one away) and two from Pot 4 (one home and one away).
2
Yes, there will be a traditional draw for the playoffs and the round of 16
Yes there will be manual draw one of the lifetime for the playoff before the round of 16 and to establish the draw from the round of 16 onwards. All qualifiers will be double-legged. The first eight will go directly to the round of 16 and the 9th to 24th will play a homecoming playoff (fratricidal duels will be possible) of those ranked between 9th and 16th place. The draw will not be determined directly (9th vs. 24th, 10th vs. 23rd, 11th vs. 22nd, etc.) but there will be pairs in the draw: the 9th and 10th will face off against the 23rd or -24, each. Etc. Anyone who falls in the playoffs in addition to those from 25th to 36th will not go to the Europa League. This is also how the draw and the subsequent draw until the final will be determined with the 1st or 2nd of the regular phase against the winner of the playoff between 15th/16th vs. 17th/18th. Of course, 1st and 2nd will go to opposite sides of the draw and they will only meet in the final of Munich on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at the door of the Club World Cup.
3
The schedules
The first day is in an exclusive week for Champions with matches on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (September 17 to 19). The next six are on Tuesday and Wednesday and the latter, only on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 and in a unified schedule (9 pm) with 18 games at the same time. The seventh match day will be on January 21 and 22, a week after the Spanish Super Cup in Arabia if it continues after Christmas, so the dates of the Copa del Rey will be changed. Until the quarterfinals, when the matches start at 9:00 pm, there will be two slots like today (6:45 pm and 9:00 pm).
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
