New Format Proposed for Champions League Soccer

[Best]

This thread is for the general discussion of the Soccer New Format Proposed for Champions League. Please add to the discussion here.

 

[Tom]

There will be a rule in place stopping teams from leapfrogging others into qualification slots.

They will need to have finished in the spot outside the Champions League places, or the next place if the team above has also been given one of the historic spots.

For example, if Manchester United finished sixth behind Watford, they would not be able to leapfrog them and it would go to the next ranked team in Europe.

But there is scope for United to qualify if they finish sixth behind Arsenal, who also have a strong coefficient based on their historical performances.

If they finished fifth, they would have a very good chance of qualifying based on their own ranking among UEFA's clubs.

No one wants this. Even most fans acknowledge they don't deserve a place if they can't get fourth. Those clubs shouldn't be bailed out of their own mismanagement so easily.

 

[Franco Pinion]

Champions League to expand from 32 to 36 teams from 2024 as Uefa approves changes

The number of teams in the Champions League group stage will rise from 32 to 36 from 2024-25 under changes approved by Uefa.

Under the new format, each team will play eight games over 10 match weeks.
But a plan to give two Champions League places to individual clubs solely on the basis of their past European performance has been abandoned.

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said "the dream to participate will remain for all clubs".

Instead, two of the four extra places will be awarded on the performance of a country's clubs in Europe over the previous season.

Uefa said another place would go to the third-placed league team in the country standing fifth in their rankings - at present, that team joins in the third qualifying round.

The European governing body said a fourth place would go to one country's domestic champions by increasing from four to five the number of teams who qualify via the 'Champions Path'. That is Uefa's name for the qualification process for domestic champions who do not automatically go into the group stage.

Uefa, though, rejected a proposal to allow clubs into the competition solely on the basis of past performance - something critics argued would have favoured 'bigger' names and provided them with a safety net if they performed poorly in a season.

It has also modified an initial plan to increase the number of games in the group phase per team from six to 10 - instead raising the number of matches to eight.

"Uefa has clearly shown today that we are fully committed to respecting the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principle of open competitions, with qualification based on sporting merit, fully in line with the values and solidarity-based European sports model," said Ceferin.

"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."

Ceferin said the new format had been approved unanimously by Uefa's executive committee, with the agreement of Europe's league bodies and national associations.

He added: "Qualification will thus remain purely based on sporting performance and the dream to participate will remain for all clubs."

Typical, the big 6 clubs chuck a tantrum, throw their toys out of the pram, and UEFA finds a way to get them back into the competition via the appropriately named "back door".

How is this allowed given the uproar following the ESL? Pathetic. Money is ruining football.

 

[Tom]

Some more on the new format....

UEFA has confirmed the new format for the Champions League from the start of the 2024-25 season.

It was expected that the competition would increase to eight matches at the group stage, rather than the current six. There had previously been a plan that each team would play 10 games at that point of the competition as part of the new "Swiss model".

The Europa League will also follow the format of the new Champions League with eight matches in the league stage while the Conference League will have six matches in the league stage.

It was also reported that two of the four additional places, with the tournament expanding to 36 teams from 32, would go to the two associations with the best collective performance by clubs in the previous season.

UEFA has now confirmed that will be the case.

The newly confirmed format does away with the controversial "historic" places that would have been dished out to teams with strong personal coefficients, irrespective of their nation's performance annually.

The other two places go to, firstly, the club ranked third in the fifth-placed association in Europe, with the other going to another "Champions Path" team.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: "UEFA has clearly shown today that we are fully committed to respecting the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principles of open competitions, with qualification based on sporting merit, fully in line with the values and solidarity-based European sports model.

"Today's decisions conclude an extensive consultation process during which we listened to the ideas of fans, players, coaches, national associations, clubs and leagues to name but a few, with the aim to find the best solution for the development and success of European football, both domestically and on the international club stage.

"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."

Confusing structure. Thank goodness there is no place for historical performances anyway...absolute rubbish.