ALL THE DETAILS ON THE NEW UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

So similar, yet so different. The end of August means the draw for the opening phase of the UEFA Champions League, and this year is no exception. However, what is about to begin will be a much-changed version of the top European competition, marking the start of a "new era." Let's explore the changes that await the teams embarking on their journey towards the final in Munich, starting this September.

THE LEAGUE PHASE
This is the major innovation for the 2024/25 season, replacing the group stage that has been a staple of the competition since the 1990s. This edition will feature 36 teams, up from 32, divided into four pots of nine based on their UEFA ranking. The draw pots will play a crucial role in shaping the fixtures, as each team will face two teams from each pot, one home and one away, making up a total of eight matches. While the opponents will be different, the goal remains the same: all matches in the league phase will contribute to a ranking, from which the teams advancing to the knockout stage will be determined.

THE KNOCKOUT STAGE
From the league phase, the top eight teams in the standings will automatically advance to the Round of 16. Teams finishing between 9th and 24th place will compete in a two-legged playoff in February to secure their place in the knockout stage. The bottom twelve teams will end their European campaign with the league phase, as the opportunity to participate in the Europa League has been abolished for Champions League teams. The higher-ranked teams (9th to 16th) will have the advantage of playing the second leg at home. UEFA has emphasised that the draw will consider the standings from the league phase. Following the playoff, the tournament will proceed with the traditional knockout rounds; Round of 16, Quarter-finals, and Semi-finals leading to the Final on 31 May, with the entire knockout bracket being set during the draw in February 2025.

MATCH SCHEDULE
Another change resulting from the increased number of games is the extended schedule. The league phase will not only be played from September to December but also feature two matchdays in mid-January. The final matchday, in particular, will take place on 29 January 2025, with all 18 games being played simultaneously. There is also a change for the opening matchday in September: between the 17th and the 19th, only Champions League fixtures will be played, with some teams competing on an unusual Thursday. Here are the complete dates:

• Matchday 1 - 17-18-19 September 2024
• Matchday 2 - 1-2 October 2024
• Matchday 3 - 22-23 October 2024
• Matchday 4 - 5-6 November 2024
• Matchday 5 - 26-27 November 2024
• Matchday 6 - 10-11 December 2024
• Matchday 7 - 21-22 January 2025
• Matchday 8 - 29 January 2025

THE DRAW
During the ceremony on 29 August in Monte Carlo, luck will still play a role, but only in determining the order in which teams will learn their European fate. One by one, starting with the top seeds (followed by the others), the teams participating in the league phase will be drawn from the pot and then discover, via computer, their eight opponents for the period from September to January. There are two key criteria for the draw. Teams from the same country cannot face each other. This applies even to countries like Italy and Germany in the 2024/25 season, which have five teams each, and a maximum of two teams from the same country can be drawn into one group. After the draw, it will take a few more hours to reveal the European schedule for Paulo Fonseca's AC Milan. UEFA will announce the dates and times of all fixtures on Saturday, 31 August.

THE 36 PARTICIPANTS

• Pot 1 (in order of UEFA Ranking): Manchester City (England), Bayern Munich (Germany), Real Madrid (Spain), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Liverpool (England), Inter (Italy), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), RB Leipzig (Germany), Barcelona (Spain).
• Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Atalanta (Italy), Juventus (Italy), Benfica (Portugal), Arsenal (England), Club Brugge (Belgium), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), AC MILAN (Italy).
• Pot 3: Feyenoord (Netherlands), Sporting CP (Portugal), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), Salzburg (Austria), Lille (France), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Young Boys (Switzerland), Celtic (Scotland).
• Pot 4: Monaco (France), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Sparta Praha (Czech Republic), Aston Villa (England), Bologna (Italy), Girona (Spain), Stuttgart (Germany), Sturm Graz (Austria), Brest (France).

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