UEFA’s three main club competitions has changed significantly for the 2024/25 season. The Champions League has expanded from 32 to 36 teams, increasing the number of games from 125 to 189. Teams will play eight group stage matches and be placed in the same table. Not only has the format changed, but also the scheduling for the competition.
Some games in this year’s Champions League will take place on Thursdays, which is typically the designated spot for UEFA Europa League and Europa Conference League matches. For the first time in the tournament’s history, the Champions League group stage will go beyond Christmas, with the last two rounds of games taking place in January. Here is everything you need to know about the format and why Thursday is no longer just for Europa League and Europa Conference League ties.
New Champions League Format Explained
From this 2024/2025 season, 36 teams will be entered into the same group, with every club playing eight opponents – four at home and four away. The matches are decided through four seeding pots, with each team playing two opponents from each of the four pots. At the end of the league stage, the top eight teams will qualify for the Round of 16, while teams ranked from 9th to 24th will play two-legged play-off matches to decide the last eight spots in the next stage of the competition. The rest of the teams that finish from 24th to 36th will exit the competition and not be entered into the Europa League or Europa Conference League.
UEFA President Aleksandr Ceferin described the new format as improving the “competitive balance” for clubs across the continent. He said:
“We are convinced that the format chosen strikes the right balance and that it will improve the competitive balance and generate solid revenues that can be distributed to clubs, leagues and into grassroots football across our continent while increasing the appeal and popularity of our club competitions”
The decision to expand the number of teams is largely financially driven. UEFA make around €3.5 billion (£2.9 billion) each year in the current Champions League format, but with the four additional teams and extra matches, it is estimated that the number will increase to around €4.5 billion (£3.8 billion). Both the Europa League and the Europa Conference League will also follow the ‘Swiss model’, increasing the number of teams to 36 clubs. The Europa Conference League will only have six group stage matches, though, compared to the Europa League, which will have eight.
Champions League Matches on Thursdays
For every UEFA club competition, there will be an exclusive matchweek where only one takes place. In the exclusive week for the Champions League, matches will be played on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. For the Europa League exclusive week, games will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, while in the Europa Conference League, every game will take place on Thursday.
The Champions League begins on Tuesday, 17th September, and this is the competition’s exclusive week. As a result, matches will be played on both Wednesday, 18th September and Thursday, 19th September. This week will see no Europa League or Europa Conference League matches played, with Champions League fixtures taking centre stage across the continent in mid-September. The Europa League’s exclusive week will take place on Wednesday, 25th September and Thursday 26th September, while only Europa Conference League games will be played on 19th December.
Exclusive Weeks for UEFA Club Competitions in 2024/25 Season | ||
|---|---|---|
Competition | Dates | Matchweek |
UEFA Champions League | 17th-19th September | One |
UEFA Europa League | 25th-26th September | One |
UEFA Conference League | 19th December | Six |
Champions League Competition Dates
The longest fans will have to wait for Champions League matches this season is 20 days. In fact, there is only a 13-day gap between the last group stage match and the first knockout round. In last year’s format, the sixth and final group games took place on the 12th and 13th December. The first Round of 16 first legs were played two months later, which is something that won’t happen with the scheduling for this season’s competition.
The Allianz Arena in Munich will host the 2024/25 Champions League final on 31st May. It will be the second time that Bayern Munich’s home stadium has hosted the final game of the competition, with the last time being back in 2012. Chelsea beat Bayern on penalties in 2012 to secure their first Champions League triumph. Real Madrid will be hopeful of securing their place in the final at Munich in an attempt to win a record-extending 16th title. They beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Wembley Stadium in last season’s edition of the final, thanks to goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior.
UEFA Champions League Schedule for 2024/2025 Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Stage | Round/Legs | Dates | |
League Stage | 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 (all 18 games played at the same time) | 29 January 2025 | ||
Knockout Round | First Legs | 11th-12th February 2025 | |
Second Legs | 18th-19th February 2025 | ||
Round of 16 | First Legs | 4th-5th March 2025 | |
Second Legs | 11th-12th March 2025 | ||
Quarterfinals | First Legs | 8th-9th April 2025 | |
Second Legs | 15th-16th April 2025 | ||
Semifinals | First Legs | 29th-30th April 2025 | |
Second Legs | 6th-7th May 2025 | ||
Final | One Leg | 31st May 2025 | |
Champions League Draw Details
The draw for the league-phase of next season’s Champions League took place on 29th August. Thirty-six teams were split into four pots of nine. Pot 1 consisted of Real Madrid and the eight other clubs with the best coefficients. The other pots are also organised based on club coefficients. As outlined already, each team was drawn against two clubs from each pot, meaning a total of eight games – four at home and four away.
In the previous format of the Champions League, clubs from the same country were not allowed to be drawn against each other in the group stage, but that is not the case this time around, with this year’s edition already throwing up some mouth-watering clashes between teams in the same domestic league already.
Information gathered from Transfermarkt and UEFA Champions League.