This season’s Champions League group stage was the last of its kind, with Europe’s premier club competition switching to a 36-team ‘Swiss Model’ from 2024-2025. The change is bound to prove contentious and adds more games to an already hectic calendar for players. This is how the new-look tournament will work, and what it means for Premier League clubs.
What will change next season?
More of a revolution than a revamp. The Champions League groups stage will be unlike we have known it. It is the biggest change in format for 20 years, since there were two group-stage mini leagues before the knockouts. From next season, the competition will adopt the ‘Swiss Model’. Instead of groups of four, there will be one league of 36 teams. Each team will be drawn to play eight matches against different opponents, half at home and half away.
Why?
Uefa will trot out the usual line about evolving the competition. But the bottom line is that there are four more teams in the group stages and each club gets two more games. More TV broadcasting money, more gate receipts and supporters travelling across the continent. If the competition was not making revenue, would they be adding to the calendar and making the group stage eight games over 10 match-weeks? At the moment there are six match-weeks.
Will it be more dramatic?
The draw seedings means there will be some big-hitters playing each other in the group stage. Manchester City, for instance, hardly got a mouth-watering draw this season when they faced RB Leipzig, Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade. Next season the clubs will be split into four pots for the draw and every team will get two clubs from Pot 1. Potential for showpiece matches between Europe’s heavyweights.
But….
The top eight will automatically qualify for the round of 16, so they could secure a place early and then rest big players for important matches at the weekend. Those finishing between ninth and 24th go into two-legged play-offs. So every place counts. But if a team cannot finish in the top eight, does it matter too much who they face in the play-offs? The battle for 24th will be exciting.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
