UEFA, the company that governs football in Europe, announced the new format for its club competition, which will start play in the 2024–2025 season.
On Monday, March 4, 2024, the body revealed the news in a 105-second video posted on its official X account. The organisation asserts that instead of the 32 teams that typically compete in the competition, there will be 36 teams in the new format.
In a press release published on the official website, UEFA President Alexsandr Ceferin confirmed. He believes that this choice illustrates the decision-making unity of European clubs.
The absence of the group stage structure from the current format is the primary shift to the new format. There are 32 players in the current Champions League group stage, split into 8 groups of 4. 36 clubs will compete in the Champions League league phase (which used to be known as the group stage) beginning with the 2024–2025 season, leaving capacity for four more teams. Under the new format, those 36 clubs is going to battle in a single league phase, where teams will play eight matches in the league phase (formerly known as the group stage). Each club will play eight different teams, with half of the games that is used at home and the other half away. The teams will be seeded into four pots based on initial rankings in order to choose the eight opponents. After that, each team will be drawn.
