Europe’s top-tier club competition, the UEFA Champions League, return this week, and football fans can expect nail-biting actions across the first round of matches.
The 2024-25 Champions League season provides another topic for discussion with the inaugural 36-team league format, which earmarks the end of the famous group stages and a totally revamped knockout phase.
The tournament will begin on Tuesday, September 17, and will run until May 31, 2025, with the final set to take place at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena.
Ahead of the commencement of the competition, Afrosport gives an insight into every key detail for the new Champions League season.
What does the new Champions League format entails?
The new Champions League format has a lot of twists to it as the competition will move away from its usual 32 teams to 36 teams. Moving on from the group stages, the 2024-25 UCL season will use a round robin format where the teams are all placed in a league standing.
The 36 teams will each play eight matches in the first phase, with four home and four away fixtures. These teams have been drawn by lots and each participant will face two teams from each pot.
No team will face another club from the same domestic league as them, and every club can only face a maximum of two teams from any one country.
How will qualification into the knockout stage be determined?
In the previous Champions League season, the top two teams from the eight groups will progress into the round of 16, which commences the knockout stage of the competition.
Going forward, this will change in the new 36-team format as it will be determined by points each team has amassed after playing eight matches. The top eight teams will automatically book a spot in the knockout phase, while the teams that finished between ninth and 24th positions will lock horns in a two-legged playoff to determine the remaining eight teams in the last 16.
Teams in positions 25 to 36 will be knocked out of Europe totally and will subsequently be joined by the losers of the playoff.
🥰#UCL pic.twitter.com/OddilSBCv9
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 7, 2024
When will the league phase begin?
The league phase of the new Champions League format begins on Tuesday, September 17, and eight different matchdays have been set aside for the 36 teams to play their required eight matches.
Unlike the previous seasons, where all three European club competitions play in the same week, this new format is different as UEFA has scheduled a “Champions League-only” week with no interference from other tiers – Europa League and Conference League.
Gameweek One: September 17-19
Gameweek Two: October 1-2
Gameweek Three: October 22-23
Gameweek Four: November 5-6
Gameweek Five: November 26-27
Gameweek Six: December 10-11
Gameweek Seven: January 21-22, 2025
Gameweek Eight: January 29th, 2025
When does the playoffs and knockout phase commence?
The playoffs to determine the final eight teams that will progress to the knockout phase will be played in February 2025. The first leg will take place between the 11th and 12th, while the return leg is slated for 18th and 19th.
Once these teams have been determined, the knockout stage will properly begin with the round of 16 with the dates listed below.
Round of 16: March 4th/5th and 11th/12th 2025
Quarter-finals: April 8th/9th and 15th/16th 2025
Semi-finals: April 29th/30th and May 6th/7th 2025
When and where is the final?
The final of the competition will be played at the 75-000 capacity Allianz Arena, the home ground of German heavyweights Bayern Munich. The final is scheduled for May 31, 2025.
The Champions League final will make its return to Munich for the first time since 2012, when Chelsea beat Bayern on penalties at the Allianz Arena to win their first continental title.
🆕 League phase line-up!#UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/yFs5uipkfQ
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 28, 2024
Teams in the Champions League this season
England: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Man City
Spain: Atletico de Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Real Madrid
Germany: Bayern, Dortmund, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Stuttgart
Italy: Atalanta, Bologna, Inter, Juventus, Milan
France: Brest, Lille, Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain
Austria: Salzburg, Sturm Graz
Netherlands: Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven
Portugal: Benfica, Sporting CP
Belgium: Club Brugge
Croatia: GNK Dinamo
Czechia: Sparta Praha
Scotland: Celtic
Serbia: Crvena Zvezda
Slovakia: Slovan Bratislava
Switzerland: Young Boys
Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk
