International Courant
EXPLANATION
Which groups are enjoying and what’s the format of the competitors? What are the brand new guidelines? Al Jazeera explains.
The primary spherical of the all-new UEFA Champions League season kicks off in September.
The draw for the bigger, modified match takes place on Thursday in Monaco, but it surely won’t be the identical as in earlier years – no less than not utterly.
That is how the upcoming season will go:
What number of groups take part within the Champions League?
Within the new model of the Champions League, 36 golf equipment take part in the principle spherical of the match. Within the previous format, there have been 32.
In accordance with the UEFA rankings, there’s an additional spot for the fifth-best European league, that means France’s Ligue 1 now has three automated qualifiers.
As well as, there’s an additional place for every of the 2 leagues with the best coefficient rating from final season within the UEFA competitors. This yr, these are Germany and Italy.
The remaining additional spot goes to a nationwide champion who emerges first from the qualifying rounds.
Competitors section lineup!#UCLdrawing | #UCL picture.twitter.com/yFs5uipkfQ
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 28, 2024
What is going to the brand new Champions League group stage appear like?
Since 2003, 32 golf equipment have competed within the Champions League, divided into eight teams of 4. The highest two from every part advance to the final 16.
That has now modified radically and from this season the 36 golf equipment will probably be merged into one competitors in a ‘Swiss system’ extra generally related to chess.
Beforehand, collaborating groups performed six matches within the group stage, going through every opponent house and away. Now, the golf equipment will every play eight matches, one towards their eight opponents.
Actual Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund to win the Champions League final season (File: Hannah McKay/Reuters)
How does the brand new group system work?
The 36 groups are divided into 4 seeded pots of 9. Every membership performs towards two groups from every pot, one at house and one away.
No crew performs towards one other membership from the identical nationwide league, and every membership can play towards a most of two groups from the identical nation.
In earlier years, the group stage resulted in December, however as a result of growth of the Champions League, the 2 additional match days will now be performed in January.
What number of matches are performed within the group stage?
The variety of matches will increase from 96 within the previous group stage to 144 within the new competitors stage.
UEFA Champions League prime scorer of all time
Recording #UCL golden boot in seven completely different seasons
Rating 17 objectives in a single marketing campaign
Rating 140 objectives in 183 video games
@Cristiano will obtain a particular award from UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin this week in Monaco!— UEFA (@UEFA) August 27, 2024
How does the draw proceed?
As an alternative of a handbook draw, UEFA will now use a hybrid draw.
Every of the 36 groups continues to be chosen manually, from the highest down by way of the 4 seeding pots. However as a substitute of choosing opponents manually, that is now performed digitally and takes simply over a second per crew.
As soon as the crew is manually chosen, the software program chooses the opponents and the place the groups will play: house or away.
How do groups qualify for the knockout stage?
The 36 golf equipment are divided into one competitors, with the perfect eight progressing to the final 16. From then on, the competitors format stays the identical.
Nonetheless, there’s a division, bearing in mind the positions within the competitors section.
As well as, a play-off spherical will probably be launched, with the groups ending ninth to twenty fourth within the league stage progressing to a two-leg knockout stage to find out the remaining locations within the final 16. These play-off matches will probably be seeded.
CONFIRMED: #UCLdrawing pots for the competitors section picture.twitter.com/hlVrDh7Hvt
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 28, 2024
What are the dates of the Champions League group stage?
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
Will the underside groups nonetheless qualify for the Europa League?
No. The underside 12 groups within the league stage are merely eradicated.
What else is new?
Every of the three UEFA males’s membership competitions now has one ‘unique week’ with no matches performed within the different two competitions that week.
For the Champions League, the unique week is the primary matchday with video games on 17, 18 and 19 September. The primary spherical of the Europa League can also be on 25 and 26 September, whereas the Convention League’s unique week is the ultimate spherical of the league section on 19 December.
Will the prize cash stay the identical?
Extra money is to be distributed among the many golf equipment collaborating within the aggressive stage of the Champions League – $2.6 billion this season in comparison with $2.2 billion in 2023-24 – though the brand new quantity will probably be divided amongst 36 golf equipment as a substitute of the earlier 32.
Format, groups, dates: The 2024-25 UEFA Champions League season defined | Soccer
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