Champions League Reveals New Format for 2024-25; League Play Replaces Group Stage

The Champions League is going to look different in the 2024-25 season.

It announced changes to the format on Monday, and the 32-team group stage will no longer be used. Instead, there will be a 36-team league phase from UEFA's three men's club competitions in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League.

Teams will be drawn against eight different opponents and will play four home games and four away games. That is not the case for the UEFA Conference League, though, as each team will face six opponents:

The most direct path to qualify for the round of 16 is finishing in the top eight positions, as those teams will advance directly into that round and avoid the knockout playoff round. Those teams that finish in the Nos. 9 through 24 positions will participate in that knockout competition that will determine the other eight spots in the round of 16.

Finishing anywhere from 25th to 36th position will eliminate teams.

There will be home and away legs in the knockout stage outside of the championship game, which will be a single-elimination final.

"The new system will ensure fast-changing and unpredictable standings," the announcement said. "More matches between equally ranked teams competing for crucial points with fans able to enjoy top clashes right from the first match day."

These changes mean there will be four additional teams than typically participate with the present format of eight groups of four clubs. Every team being in a single league also increases the stakes even through the final match day of the league phase since clubs will be battling for position.

Everything isn't changing, though, as qualifying for Champions League still depends on where teams finish in their domestic leagues from the previous season.

The new format for the UEFA Champions League will take center stage when competition begins on July 9. It runs through the final, which is scheduled for May 31, 2025.