Changes to the UEFA Champions League format

Billion dollar squads, the world’s best players and an iconic theme tune. It is, of course, the UEFA Champions League (UCL). And next season the UCL is back bigger than ever before. So what’s new? Continue reading to discover the new Champions League format, why it has changed and what it could mean for sports bettors.

What is the current Champions League structure?

When Vinicius Jr’s goal sealed Real Madrid’s Champions League victory at Wembley, it also signaled the end of the tournament as we know it. Briefly, that format consisted of eight groups of four teams. After each team played against each other twice, once at home and once away, the eight group winners took on the eight group runners-up, according to seeding and the subsequent draw for the round of 16.

The round of 16, again consisting of a home and away leg, was then followed by a two-leg quarter-final and a two-leg semi-final. Lastly, the UCL concluded with a one-game final usually at a neutral venue, except in the case of Bayern Munich vs Chelsea at Bayern’s Allianz Arena (2012).

What is the new Champions League format?

The first change you’ll notice is the increased number of teams in the competition. The new UCL format has 36 teams compared to 32 previously. The second change is that the Champions League will become more “league-y” by adopting a so-called Swiss model league table.

That’s because instead of the previous group phase, teams will now play eight matches in a new league stage. Yes, that’s right, all 36 teams will get placed into one giant league table. But instead of each team playing three opponents twice or the 35 other teams once, each team wil actually face fixtures against eight different teams, four at home and four away.

To determine the eight different opponents for the matches, all teams will initially be divided in four UEFA seeding pots of nine teams each, with Pot 1 having the toughest seeds and Pot 4 containing the weakest seeds. Every year, the defending champions, in this case Real Madrid, will automatically get assigned to Pot 1.

After that, each team will be drawn to play two opponents from each pot, one match against a team at home, and one away.

Once every team has played their eight games, the league stage will be complete. Teams from position one to eight in the table will automatically qualify for the round of 16 as top seeds. The teams that finish from position 25 to 36 will be eliminated from European Soccer competition altogether.

However, the 16 teams that finish from position nine to 24 will then go into a playoff round to determine which eight other teams will complete the round of 16 line-up.

The playoff round fixtures will also be determined by table positioning. For example, the team in position 9 will play the team in position 24, position 10 will play position 23, position 11 will play position 22, etc. in two-leg home and away-style games. Depending on who comes through the playoff round, the knockout phase bracket will be complete and the new UCL format will then revert back to the previous format with a two-leg round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final, followed by a one-off final.

The bracket, consisting of two sides, will also be determined by seeding, meaning essentially that teams in positions one and two, positions three and four, positions five and six, etc, will be on opposite sides of the bracket.

Why has the UCL changed structure?

Whenever a tournament expands, the official line from the governing bodies usually mentions something along the lines of “growing the game” and “improving the competitive balance”. From the Euros to Copa America, it seems there’s no plans to stop extending the beautiful game’s global reach. But it’s not just Soccer. Every league from the NFL to the NBA continues to add more and more games to their respective schedule.

The unofficial version probably has more to do with revenue. With 64 additional games in the new UCL format, there are plenty more opportunities to make television, cable and advertising income. The increase from 32 to 36 teams will also see two countries receive an extra UCL place based on how their league performed in Europe the season prior. Based on the 2023/2024 season, in 2024/2025, Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A will both receive those additional places.

How does the new UCL format affect sports betting?

Nothing really changes sports betting wise. But as the number of matches in the new format will increase to 189 from 125, there will be more opportunities to bet on the Champions League. And with more teams involved, there may be more opportunities such as using handicap betting strategies, creating Parlay bets or making live in-game wagers.

Whether you’re for or against the new format, it will definitely bring renewed excitement to midweek nights. There will, however, be a lot of questions that will need to be answered. Are there now less opportunities for underdogs in the competition? Does more games mean more fatigue and less quality? What will be the knock-on effect on domestic leagues like La Liga and intercontinental tournaments such as the World Cup?

The truth is that only time will tell.

What about the Europa League and the Europa Conference League?

Both the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League will also revert to a 36-team Swiss model league. Whereas the Champions League and Europa League will have each team play eight matches against eight different opponents in the league phase, the Europa Conference League will consist of each team playing six matches against six different opponents in its league phase.