New Champions League format promises more of almost everything storied clubs wanted from UEFA

GENEVA (AP) — The new Champions League format this season will see more teams playing more games for more prize money.

On Thursday, UEFA makes the draw in Monaco for the match schedule of the new single-standings league phase that replaces the traditional group stage.

The first new Champions League format since 2003 promises more of almost everything that Europe’s wealthiest and most influential clubs wanted from UEFA.

There are four more places in a 36-team lineup; at least eight games each instead of six; Champions League games scheduled in January for the first time; a prize money rise of at least 25% to a minimum 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion).

There also was more evidence, at UEFA’s European Championship this summer, that constant expansion of international competitions is leaving players tired and unable to perform at their best year-round.

The new league phase in European club soccer’s marquee event will have 144 total games compared to 96 in the group stage last season.

The “key aims,” UEFA said, is to “improve competitive balance and sporting interest and in the process increase the number of meaningful matches — matches with something at stake for both sides — throughout the competition.”

In the eighth and final round, all 36 teams play on the same Jan. 29 evening to finalize the standings which will decide which eight teams advance directly to the round of 16 — and with what seedings in a tennis-like knockout bracket — as well as which 16 go into a new knockout playoff round in February, and which 12 are eliminated.

“We simulated that qualification should be possible with an average of 7.6 points, which means two victories and two draws,” said UEFA’s head of competitions strategy, Stéphane Anselmo.

Why change such a successful competition?

Money, mostly, though that’s not the only reason.

The Champions League in Europe has for the past 32 years showcased the highest quality play in world soccer. It let UEFA steer billions of euros (dollars) of prize money to clubs who pay the highest transfer fees and salaries.

Still, influential officials at the European Club Association (ECA) got bored of the group stage, saying it was too repetitive and lacked drama. They wanted more games against stronger opponents that would be more valued by broadcasters, viewers and new fans worldwide. Their leverage over UEFA was potentially launching their own breakaway competition.

The road to agreeing the format was rocky. A controversial first proposal in 2019, favoring storied clubs, was stopped by a backlash from mid-ranked clubs and domestic leagues.

There was intense turmoil sparked by the failed Super League launch in April 2021 by most of the same club officials who negotiated Champions League reform with UEFA.

Final format approval came in May 2022 — when Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus were exiled from the talks and still pursued UEFA in court — and it was broadly what the rebel Super League clubs had negotiated.

What is the new format?

Out goes the group-stage format played for 21 seasons where 32 teams were put into eight groups of four teams from a seeded draw. The top two in each group advanced to the round of 16. Groups gave each team six games from September into December, playing each rival once at home and once away.

In comes a single-standings league — 36 teams each playing eight games against eight different opponents through January.

The top eight in the standings go direct to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into the knockout playoffs in February. The bottom 12 teams are eliminated.

In the playoffs, teams ranked Nos. 9-16 are seeded in the draw to play second legs at home against unseeded teams Nos. 17-24.

Who gets the four extra places?

Two for countries whose teams collectively had the best record in UEFA club competitions in the previous season. That was Italy and Germany so the fifth-placed teams in Serie A and the Bundesliga qualified: Bologna and Borussia Dortmund.

The fifth-ranked national league (based on five years of results in UEFA club competitions) gets a third direct entry. That is currently France and Brest was third in Ligue 1.

An extra place goes to the qualifying rounds path for national champions from lower-ranked countries. They now play for five total qualifying places instead of four last season.

How will the draw be done?

The 36 teams come out of four seeding pots graded by each team’s “UEFA club coefficient” – its ranking by results in five years of European competitions. The top-seeded pot contains recent Champions League winners and beaten finalists, plus Leipzig and Barcelona.

When a team’s ball is drawn, its slate of eight opponents — two from each seeding pot, one to play at home and one away — will be allocated by a software program and displayed within seconds.

Match dates will be confirmed Saturday, to avoid city clashes with Europa League and Conference League games being drawn Friday in Monaco. Those lower-tier competitions also are a 36-team single-standings league. Conference League teams play just six games.

Billion-dollar prize money fund

Winning the Champions League title in 2023 earned Manchester City 135 million euros ($151 million) from UEFA. This season’s winner can reach 150 million euros ($168 million), with total competition revenue boosted by selling 189 total games instead of 125.

Commercial strategy is managed by a UEFA-ECA joint venture, and new sponsors for the Champions League include a cryptocurrency trading platform and a betting site.

Each of the 36 teams gets a basic 18.6 million euros ($20.8 million), then 2.1 million euros ($2.35 million) for each game won and 700,000 euros ($782,000) per draw.

Each place in the standings is worth more money with shares of 275,000 euros ($307,000) per place: 36 shares, or 9.9 million euros ($11 million), goes to the team finishing top in January and a single share to the last-place team.

Bonuses escalate from 11 million euros ($12.3 million) per team for advancing to each knockout round.

Another prize fund of 853 million euros ($953 million) is allocated based on teams’ historical record in UEFA competitions and the value of national and global broadcast deals.

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