UEFA unveil Champions League revamp; four new teams to play
In an announcement, UEFA said that the Champions League will see an increase of four teams and the present group stage format replaced by a single league from the 2024-25 season
UEFA : Major changes announcedThe total number of teams participating in The European Champions League will go to 36, and each team will play eight games instead of the current six, four home and four away.
The top eight teams on the charts in the UEFA Champions League will automatically qualify for the knockout stage. In contrast, teams from the ninth to 24th spot will need to compete in a two-legged knockout stage to make it to the last 16 of the tournament.
The controversial plan to allocate two of the four different spots to clubs based on their historical performance has been altered after consultation with several parties.
One of the extra spots will go to the club ranked third in the Championship of the association at the fifth spot on UEFA national association rankings. The second spot will be awarded to a domestic champion via the Champions Path. In contrast, the final two places go to the national associations with the best-combined performance in the last season, judged using the mean of the collective points earned by all the clubs of the associations. England and Netherlands would have received the two spots given to national associations if judged for this season.
After the announcement, the President of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, said, "We are convinced that the format chosen strikes the right balance. It will improve the competitive balance and generate solid revenues distributed to clubs, leagues and grassroots football across our continent.
He added, "I am pleased that it was a unanimous decision of the UEFA Executive Committee, with the European Club Association, European Leagues and National Associations all agreeing with the proposal made, another proof that European football is more united than ever.
Similar changes will also be applied to the UEFA Europa Conference League and UEFA Europa League. The number of teams in both tournaments will be increased to 36. UEFA Europa Conference League will have six matches in the group stage, while UEFA Europa League will have eight.