For the 2024-25 season, the Champions League will undergo its most significant transformation since the tournament's rebranding from the European Cup in 1992.
The Champions League is set to undergo its biggest change since the old European Cup was rebranded as the Champions League in 1992, and all teams will play two additional games in the first stage, which will not be completed until the end of January.
The revamped Champions League begins today, Thursday, August 29, with the draw for the new league stage which replaces the old group stage pattern.
The Champions League was previously split into eight groups with four sides, with the top two from each group going to the knockout stage.
A 36-team league phase has been introduced in the new format, with each team playing eight games, four home and four away, all against different opponents.
Teams who finish in the top eight will be automatically eligible for the knockout phase, while those who finish in 9th to 24th place must participate in a two-legged play-off to attempt to secure a spot in the last-16.
Those ranked 9th-16th will receive seed status and play the second leg of their play-off tie on their turf, while teams ranked 17th-24th will play the first leg on their turf.
The top eight will be joined by the winners in the 16th round. Teams that finish 25th to 36th will be kicked out of all European competitions this season, with the bottom 12 not being given a chance to play in the Europa League.
The competition resumes its traditional straight knockout format with a round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final, with all games, except for the final, being played over two legs in the knockout stage.
The Champions League begins with the best team in Europe, including Real Madrid, Premier League giants Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool, and fellow continental heavyweights Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich, as usual.
Following their victory in the Europa League last season, Atalanta are among the contenders for this year’s competition, along with other Italian teams like Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, and Bologna.
Bayer Leverkusen, who are the German champions, join Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart, and Borussia Dortmund, as well as French sides Brest and Monaco.
After finishing fourth in the Premier League, Aston Villa will make their first appearance in the Champions League, with Girona also making their debut after coming third in Spain.
Dutch clubs PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord have qualified, as have Portuguese clubs Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. Also, Scottish champions Celtic, Belgian club Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine, and Austrian club Sturm Graz are among the other clubs that have qualified.
The final seven teams – Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava, Red Star Belgrade, Sparta Prague, Lille and RB Salzburg – have all come through Champions League qualifying to make the main stage.
The new league phase will consist of eight matchdays, starting with a dedicated Champions League week from September 17-19, and concluding with matchday eight on January 29, 2025.
Matches will be held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, except the competition’s exclusive week, which also includes Thursday fixtures.
The play-off round’s draw, which will include teams who finish 9th-24th, will be held on January 31, 2025, and the games will be played on February 11th and 12th, February 18th, and 19th, over two legs.
The first leg of the round of 16 is scheduled for March 4 and 5 2025 and March 11 and 12 (second legs), and the quarter-finals are scheduled for April 8 and 9 and April 15 and 16.
The semi-final first legs will be played on April 29 and 30, with the second legs on May 6 and 7, and the final, which will be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich is scheduled for May 31, 2025.
