How the New Champions League Format Works

U E FA C H A M P I O N S L E AG U E How the new Champions League format works The 36-team league phase, the knockout play-offs and the road to the final, explained simply. Marcus Delgado · Football editor, Footgoal footgoal.co 1

THE BIG CHANGE Since 2024-25: one league, not eight groups 36 clubs in the league phase, up from 32 footgoal.co · Champions League format 8 league-phase matches per club, against 8 different opponents 1 single league table ranking all 36 clubs 2

OLD VS NEW What actually changed Old group stage (to 2023-24) League phase (from 2024-25) 32 clubs in 8 groups of 4 36 clubs in one table 6 matches: each group rival home and away 8 matches: 4 home, 4 away, all different opponents Top 2 in each group advanced 3rd place dropped into the Europa League Top 8 advance directly; 9th to 24th go to play-offs No drop into the Europa League footgoal.co · Champions League format 3

T H E D R AW Four pots decide who you play POT 1 POT 2 POT 3 POT 4 2 opponents 2 opponents 2 opponents 2 opponents One home match One away match Every club draws two opponents from each pot: one at home and one away. That gives every team a balanced mix of strong and weaker opponents across its 8 games. footgoal.co · Champions League format 4

T H E L E AG U E TA B L E Where you finish decides your path 1st – 8th Straight to the round of 16 9th – 24th Knockout play-off round 25th – 36th Eliminated Skip the play-offs and get the home second leg in the next round. 16 clubs paired over two legs; the 8 winners reach the round of 16. Out of Europe for the season, with no drop into the Europa League. footgoal.co · Champions League format 5

T H E K N O C KO U T R O U N D S From 24 clubs to one winner Play-offs 9th–24th two legs › Round of 16 Top 8 + 8 playoff winners › Quarterfinals two legs › Semi-finals two legs › Final one match, neutral venue A higher league-phase finish earns the second leg at home in the knockout rounds, so the league phase still matters after it ends. footgoal.co · Champions League format 6

T H E R E AS O N I N G Why UEFA changed the format Bigger games earlier A dramatic final matchday More matches More income Top clubs can meet in the league phase instead of waiting for the knockouts. Eight league games instead of six, plus a new play-off round. footgoal.co · Champions League format With one 36-team table, many places are decided at the same time on the last night. More matches mean more broadcast and prize revenue for participating clubs. 7

F O L LOW T H E C O M P E T I T I O N Live table, fixtures and results Track the Champions League league phase, the play-offs and the knockout rounds as they happen. www.footgoal.co/champions-league Full tactical guide: footgoal.co → Champions League format explained More explainers: footgoal.wikidot.com footgoal.co 8