At midnight on August 30th, the draw for the 2023/24 season of the UEFA Champions League will take place in Monaco. This is also the first time since the reform of the Champions League in 1992 that a “Swiss League” format will replace the traditional group stage in the league phase. Below, let us introduce you to the new Champions League format.
New season’s Champions League format
Starting from the 2024/25 season of the Champions League, the number of participating teams will increase from 32 to 36, then enter the league phase through a “Swiss League” draw, followed by the play-off phase and knockout phase.
League Phase:
In the league phase with 36 teams, each team will play against 8 different teams (4 home, 4 away) between September and January next year.
Play-off Phase:
After the conclusion of 8 rounds in the league phase, the top 8 teams will directly advance to the Round of 16. Teams ranked 9th to 24th will compete through two-legged play-offs, with the winners advancing to the Round of 16, while teams ranked 25th to 36th will be eliminated from all competitions, not relegated to participate in the Europa League.
Knockout Phase:
From the Round of 16 onwards, matches will be played in a knockout format, with teams playing home and away games until the final is held at a neutral venue.
The higher a team ranks in the league phase, the higher their seeding in the knockout phase. Starting from the play-off round of the knockout phase, teams can face opponents from the same country.
How the Draw Works
The draw process is very complex, with most of the work being completed through automated technology. The 36 teams in the league phase are divided into four pots, with last season’s Champions League winner Real Madrid automatically placed in the first pot. Each team will draw two opponents (one home, one away) from each pot.
Notable Rules:
1. In the “league phase” draw, teams cannot face teams from the same football association (home country avoidance principle), and can only face up to two teams from the same association during this phase.
2. Firstly, manually draw one team from the first pot, and then use AI to determine the eight teams this team will face, and so on.
Worth noting is that the AI software will also determine home and away fixtures. If the draw were conducted in the usual way, it would take about four hours, with 1000 balls and at least 36 bowls on stage, but with the use of supercomputers, the draw is expected to take only about 30 minutes.
Champions League Pot Distribution
Pot 1: Real Madrid (defending champions), Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, Barcelona
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg, Lille, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys Bern, Celtic
Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava, Monaco, Sparta Prague, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest
Date Schedule for Each Stage:
Round 1: September 18-19, 2024
Round 2: October 2-3, 2024
Round 3: October 23-24, 2024
Round 4: November 6-7, 2024
Round 5: November 27-28, 2024
Round 6: December 11-12, 2024
Round 7: January 22-23, 2025
Round 8: January 30, 2025
Play-off: February 12-13, 2025, February 19-20, 2025
Round of 16: March 5-6, 2025, March 12-13, 2025
Quarter-finals: April 9-10, 2025, April 16-17, 2025
Semi-finals: April 30-May 1, 2025, May 7-8, 2025
Final: June 1, 2025
Swiss League System, AI Draw! A Detailed Explanation of the New Season’s Champions League Draw Tonight. Author：Sports UEFA.Please indicate the source when reproduced：https://www.sportsuefa.com/football-world/swiss-league-system-ai-draw-a-detailed-explanation-of-the-new-seasons-champions-league-draw-tonight.html
