The dream of any footballer who plays on the European continent is to one day be able to lift the Champions League. Until the 2023/24 edition, the format was well known among locals and outsiders of the competition but from the next season everything will be different. Both the top tournament and the Europa League and the Conference League will receive a profound modification in their format with the aim of offering fans a more engaging experience where the best teams in the world constantly measure themselves to find the champion.
Through a video in English, UEFA detailed the changes. To start, he highlighted that the classification for the three competitions continues to maintain the same tone: sporting merit. That is, the final places in the standings of each domestic championship will distribute the places for the next edition that will start in mid-2024. Next, it was confirmed that the format will have an eight-day mini league, with 36 teams instead of the 32 that currently compete in the group stage over six dates.
In order to avoid repetition of matches, each team will play against eight different opponents in a Swiss format that will be drawn automatically as the tournament progresses. “In this way, clubs will have the opportunity to face a wider range of rivals and fans will be able to see the best teams face each other more often and earlier in the competition,” explained the body that regulates football in Europe in a official statement.
Once this first phase is over, the eight best teams in that general standings will automatically qualify for the round of 16. Their rivals will come out of a playoffs where the 16 teams that finish between 9th and 24th place will face each other. From 25th to 36th, they are automatically eliminated from the competition and will not have a second chance in the lowest ranking tournament, as used to happen with the 3rd in the traditional format groups.
From the round of 16 onwards is where the current system is maintained with the classic single final at a neutral venue. “All matches prior to the final will continue to be played during the week, recognizing the importance of the national match calendar across Europe, while the final will continue to be played on a Saturday,” added the UEFA letter. The modification will go down as is to the Europa League and a little more aggressively to the Conference League, with the difference that they will play six games in the group stage.
These changes extend to the rest of the competitions organized by UEFA. The Champions League and Europa League matches will be played between September and January, while the Europa Conference League matches will be played between September and December. Each of the three UEFA club competitions will have an exclusive match week, as the other two competitions will not be scheduled in that week.
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