Monday, April 19, 2021
UEFA reforms the premier class
Champions League gets a completely new mode
Even after top clubs announced that they would found their own Super League, the European Football Union (UEFA) decided on a far-reaching reform of the Champions League. From the 2024/25 season, 36 instead of the previous 32 teams will take part, and there will be significantly more games.
Despite the excitement surrounding the founding of the Super League, the European Football Union (UEFA) has decided to reform the Champions League from the 2024/25 season. This was announced by UEFA after the meeting of its Executive Committee in Montreux / Switzerland. Already on Monday night, twelve European top clubs, including no team from the Bundesliga, decided to found an independent Super League to compete with the top tier of UEFA.
The new mode of the Champions League provides for an increase from the current 32 to 36 participants from 2024. In future, the competition will be played in the so-called “Swiss model”. Accordingly, each club plays ten group games against ten opponents drawn on the basis of a seeding list. From this, an overall table of the 36 teams is determined, on the basis of which the eight best-placed teams move directly into the knockout round. The teams in positions nine to 24 play off the other participants in the knockout round in playoffs.
There will also be changes in the other international competitions. The second-rate Europa League is played in the same format as the Champions League, but with only eight group games per team. In the Conference League, which will be introduced for the coming season, there will be six preliminary round games per team. The reform is heavily criticized by organized supporters.
Two of the four additional starting places are to be awarded via a five-year ranking list of the clubs. Clubs that did not qualify through the league would benefit from their successes of the past and still move into the Champions League. This innovation was intended as a concession for the top clubs – but six clubs from England and three each from Spain and Italy want to leave the Super League.
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