The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) on Monday introduced the new Champions League format which can are available power from the 2024 season.
Champions League will now be competed between 36 groups, including 4 extra groups to the competitors. All 36 groups are introduced collectively into one pool as a substitute of the present system of four-team teams.
The #UEFAExCo has accepted a new format for membership competitions as of the 2024/25 season.
[?] The reforms come after an intensive session throughout the soccer household. The modifications made are designed to safe the optimistic way forward for European soccer at each degree.#UCL #UEL
— UEFA (@UEFA) April 19, 2021
“Taking the total number of teams from 32 to 36 in the UEFA Champions League, the biggest change will see a transformation from the traditional group stage to a single league stage including all participating teams. Every club will now be guaranteed a minimum of 10 league stage games against 10 different opponents (five home games, five away) rather than the previous six matches against three teams, played on a home and away basis,” UEFA mentioned in an announcement.
“The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the knockout stage, while the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition,” it added.
Similar format modifications will even be utilized to the UEFA Europa League (8 matches within the league stage) and UEFA Europa Conference League (6 matches within the league stage). Subject to additional discussions and agreements, these two competitions may additionally be expanded to a complete of 36 groups every within the league stage.
Qualification for the UEFA Champions League will proceed to be open and earned by a staff’s efficiency in home competitions.
Commenting on the new format, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, mentioned: “This new format helps the standing and way forward for the home sport all through Europe as properly. It retains the precept that home efficiency ought to be the important thing to qualification and reconfirms the ideas of solidarity proper by the sport and of open competitors.
“This evolved format will still keep alive the dream of any team in Europe to participate in the UEFA Champions League thanks to results obtained on the pitch and it will enable long-term viability, prosperity, and growth for everyone in European football, not just a tiny, self-selected cartel,” he added.
Earlier, UEFA had mentioned that any participant and membership who participates within the proposed Super League will probably be banned from UEFA and FIFA soccer tournaments.
“UEFA, the English Football Association and the Premier League, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and LaLiga, and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Lega Serie A have learned that a few English, Spanish and Italian clubs may be planning to announce their creation of a closed, so-called Super League,” UEFA mentioned in an announcement on Sunday.
“We will consider all measures available to us, at all levels, both judicial and sporting in order to prevent this happening. Football is based on open competitions and sporting merit; it cannot be any other way. As previously announced by FIFA and the six confederations, the clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level, and their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams,” it added.
(With ANI inputs)
