Did UEFA Get It Right with New Champions League Format?
One thing that tends to unite all soccer fans, players, clubs, and just about everyone involved with the beautiful game is a general distrust for governing bodies like UEFA and FIFA. We won’t open that can of worms by going through all the reasons for that, but it’s enough to say there is universal suspicion about the motives of governing bodies, especially when they make changes.
Such was the case when UEFA decided to change the format of the world’s premier club competition, the Champions League. At the onset of the 2024/25 season, the traditional mini-league system was set aside for a new 36-team League Phase. Each team played eight games, with the top eight qualifying directly and the next 16 competing in playoffs to advance to the knockout phase. After that, it was essentially the same format as before.
There was something of an outcry when UEFA announced the changes and skepticism that it would improve the competition. Most of the ire was reserved for the fact each team would play an additional two games in the League Phase, whereas the previous system only had six. Adding more games to the schedule is not unique to soccer bosses, nor are the grumbles from players who claim their workload is increasing too much.
Former Group Stage Could Lack Jeopardy
And yet, arguably, some parts of the new format have worked. There was a sense of jeopardy sustained all the way through the League Phase, something that was missing from the old Group Stage format. There were far too many dead rubber games with that system, with teams already qualified for the knockout phase playing those who were eliminated. Fans often cited loss of interest, and it could make things difficult for betting and soccer picks and predictions for fantasy games.
With the new system, it was broadly competitive across the eight games. Teams like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Paris Saint Germain, and Bayern Munich were fighting for their lives all the way through the League Phase, and we also got the brilliant spectacle of Manchester City playing Real Madrid in the playoff round after both failed to finish in the top eight positions. That’s what fans want – possibly not fans of City, who were eliminated – but you get the idea; a constant sense of jeopardy was missing from the early stages of the Champions League for years, and UEFA did a fair job of fixing the problem.
Clashes Between the Best Teams
Another plus point for the new format was more games between the biggest teams. The old system kept the top seeds apart for as long as possible in the tournament, whereas the new one threw them together across the League Phase. Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona, Real Madrid vs. AC Milan, Arsenal vs. PSG, and Manchester City vs. Inter Milan were just some of the juicy ties we witnessed in the League Phase. The old format could throw up matches like that from time to time (Barcelona, Manchester United & Bayern Munich were in the same group back in the 1998/99 season, for instance), but it is rare to see so many blockbuster games so early in the campaign.
If we could add some criticism about the format, we would probably point to the complexity of it all. Players and coaches seemed unsure of the permutations of qualification at certain points, and there was a sense that the earlier parts of the league phase were a bit slow, yet it certainly picked up, and we were treated to an exciting finale as all the final games were broadcast live simultaneously.
It may take a while for this new format to shape itself in the minds of fans and teams alike. Of course, as we approach the 2025 Champions League Final, pitting Paris Saint-Germain against Inter Milan, few will be thinking back to how teams slogged it out across the fall and winter months. Yet, on reflection, it feels like it set the tone for a brilliant campaign across the 2024/25 season. Maybe more tweaks will be needed, but for the moment, the positives of the new format seem to outweigh the negatives.