Understanding the new Champions League format for the 2024/25 season
As the UEFA Champions League prepares for its 2024/25 season, a significant change is coming to Europe’s premier club competition that aims to make games more unpredictable and make sports betting entertaining for football fans around the continent.
The long-established group stage format will be replaced by the new “Swiss Style” format, which promises to bring more excitement and unpredictability.
The goal from UEFA is to keep the competition fresh and challenging – with Real Madrid dominating recent editions of the tournament, beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Wembley for their 16th title last term – also providing more marquee matchups throughout the tournament.
In this article, we’ll dive into how the new format works, why UEFA has introduced these changes, and highlight the key dates and matches you won’t want to miss.
How the new format works
The Champions League will now feature a single league phase instead of the traditional group stage. Instead of 32 teams being divided into eight groups of four, 36 teams will compete in this phase.
The new format draws inspiration from the Swiss system used in chess, where teams do not need to play all other participants. Instead, each club will play eight matches against different opponents, drawn based on their UEFA coefficient ranking.
These eight games will be split evenly between home and away fixtures, and teams still cannot play any league phase games against teams from their own domestic league.
A key difference from the traditional Champions League format is that every team will face different opponents in each match, eliminating the repetition of home-and-away fixtures against the same team.
This approach ensures a more balanced competition, where no team faces only high-ranking or low-ranking opponents. By the end of the league phase, each team will have played a total of eight matches, and the top 24 will advance to the knockout rounds.
The top eight teams in the standings will automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while teams placed from 9th to 24th will face a two-legged playoff to determine the remaining spots.
After the playoffs, the competition will continue with the traditional knockout stages, leading to the final at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena in May.
Key dates
- Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024
- Matchday 2: 1–2 October 2024
- Matchday 3: 22–23 October 2024
- Matchday 4: 5–6 November 2024
- Matchday 5: 26–27 November 2024
- Matchday 6: 10–11 December 2024
- Matchday 7: 21–22 January 2025
- Matchday 8: 29 January 2025
Why has this format been introduced?
UEFA’s decision to introduce the Swiss-style format comes from a desire to add more competitive balance, unpredictability, and viewer excitement. In the previous group stage format, outcomes often became predictable, with the same elite clubs frequently advancing to the knockout rounds.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has defended the changes to the competition, saying it “will be a benefit for everyone” with the UEFA President aware of how popular the previous format had been with fans.
Key matches to watch
The new format promises some exciting matchups, particularly with historic and high-stakes games expected across the league phase. The group system has drafted several classics in the making so far.
Liverpool and Real Madrid has been a battle that has regularly commenced over the last six years, serving as a rematch of the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals, this time at Anfield.
Elsewhere, Italian champions Inter take on a resurgent Arsenal team that has been challenging for Premier League for the last couple of seasons. And on the final matchday, two historic British clubs with European glory in their pasts meet in what could be a decisive encounter between Aston Villa and Celtic.
The new Champions League format for the 2024/25 season brings significant changes to how the tournament is structured. Moving from a group stage to a Swiss-style league phase, only time will tell if it proves to be a success.