Single group with 36 teams, the draw, the top 8 to the round of 16, the tennis-style bracket leading to the final: all the novelties of the new format that will start after 2024.
Seeing your team in twenty-third place gives you chills: where have we ended up? We’ll get used to it, like everything else, but it won’t be easy to come to terms with the new Champions League at first. Used to the old groups, first two, then four, and finally eight, who knows what effect a single group of 36 teams will have. With a single ranking, as if it were a mega-championship. On the other hand, this is the philosophy: a tournament where the situation could be in balance until the last matchday, avoiding stripping the final rounds of interest. Then, of course, the excitement will come with the knockout stage.
THE 36 TEAMS
36 teams will compete in the new Champions League. Italy will have 4 guaranteed spots thanks to the absolute UEFA ranking which places us in the top 4 positions. But there’s a new twist: the seasonal UEFA ranking grants an extra spot to the two best leagues. Currently, Italy leads the ranking, but it won’t be easy to maintain.
THE BIG GROUP
In the group stage, there are 8 matches instead of the usual 6. There are no home and away matches, but 8 direct opponents determined by the “draw” in August in Monte Carlo. The 36 teams will be divided into 4 tiers of 9 based on the club ranking (champions automatically placed in the top tier). Each team will be paired with 2 opponents from each tier, one to play at home and one away.
THE STANDINGS
After the group stage, the top 8 teams go directly to the round of 16. Teams ranked 9th to 16th face off against teams ranked 17th to 24th in playoffs (similar to tennis, with seeded teams): the 8 winners join the top 8 teams in the round of 16, while the 8 losers are eliminated along with the teams ranked 25th to 36th. Another novelty: no moving to the minor cups. Those eliminated are out of all cups.
KNOCKOUT STAGE
The remaining 16 teams compete in the round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, with home and away matches, until the single final, always with a tennis-style draw and predetermined matchups from the start. There will be only one draw, that of August. It will take at least 15 matches to win the Champions League, 17 for those who advance through the playoffs.
OTHER CUPS
The system also revolutionizes the Europa League and the Conference League. The other two tournaments will have the same format with 36 teams and a single group (but the Conference only has 6 matches instead of 8). It all seems much more spectacular and competitive. There won’t be a shortage of tests to see how it works out.
