The UEFA Champions League is the most-watched club football competition on the planet, so any slight changes to the tournament's format, schedule, or qualification are poured over by millions with a fine-tooth comb.
Forget small changes. After Real Madrid's historic 15th success, the tournament is set to feature a massive overhaul that will completely revamp the format and schedule, forcing clubs and leagues to adjust their fixture lists to accommodate the huge structural alterations.
Fans and coaches will need to alter their way of thinking when it comes to the European continental championship, as the Swiss Model is introduced to the world.
The Sporting News brings you everything you need to know about how the Swiss Model works, who will be affected, and how the Champions League format will change. It'll be up to you to decide if the changes are for better or for worse.
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What is the Swiss Model? Champions League group stage no more
In the now-defunct Champions League format, 32 teams entered the group stage, drawn into eight groups of four clubs each. From there, the top two group finishers advanced to a 16-team single-elimination knockout bracket to determine a winner.
Starting in August 2024, the European tournament will feature a completely new format designed to get more high-pressure, high-profile games to replace the few meaningless matches some teams play at the end of the group stage.
In the new Swiss Model format, all 36 group stage (now referred to as the "league stage") participants will be organised into one massive table. The teams will play eight matches against other teams of varying difficulty, collecting the traditional three points for a win and one point for a draw.
The fixtures will be determined by a draw in which the 36 league stage participants are organised into four pots of nine clubs each, with every club playing matches against two other teams from each pot.
At the end of the eight rounds, the top eight teams in the table qualify for the round of 16 directly, while clubs in positions 9-24 will be drawn into a two-legged playoff round.
The winners of the playoff round matchups advance to the round of 16, while the losers drop out of Europe entirely.
From there, the traditional single-elimination style returns and the 16-team knockout bracket takes over. In summary:
- 36-team single table league phase
- 8 matches played against 2 teams from each of the 4 pots
- Top eight teams advance to Champions League Round of 16
- 9th through 24th advance to two-legged playoff round
- 8 playoff winners advance to Champions League Round of 16, losers drop to Europa League
When will the Champions League format change?
The format changes mean that the 2023/24 campaign was the last to see the Champions League in its current structure which consists of 32 teams in the group phase, split up into eight groups of four, with the top two in each advancing to the knockout rounds.
Why is the Champions League changing format?
There are a few reasons for the switch to the Swiss Model, which is also used (with many variations) in other competitive environments such as chess, badminton, and some Esports and trading card competitions (such as Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Gwent).
First, it provides more matches, and more matches mean more broadcast revenue. In the traditional group stage format, the 32 teams play 96 games before half the field is eliminated.
In the new Swiss Model, the 36 teams will combine to play 144 matches throughout the league phase, with 16 more games in the knockout playoff round, bulging the current fixture list by 64 games, an enormous increase of 66.7% on the old format.
In total, the tournament will nearly double in size front to back, jumping from 125 to 225 games year-over-year. However, the huge increase in matches will put further strain on clubs, leagues, and players who are already stretched extremely thin from domestic league, cup and international competitions all adding matches.
Additionally, the new format will allow for additional slots for teams to qualify to the Champions League, which will see more big clubs enter the competition. While that's controversial from a competitive standpoint, it will draw more large fanbases to watch the games, leading to higher viewership and a more valuable asset to sell to broadcasters globally.
MORE: Has the Europa League changed too?
Is the Champions League expanding?
The 2024/25 Champions League season will see a slightly larger field enter the tournament, from the preliminary stages all the way through the final.
Most notably, the league phase will increase from 32 teams to 36, adding four slots. One additional guaranteed spot will be given to UEFA's fifth-ranked domestic league by coefficient (currently France) as they move from three league phase berths and one playoff berth to four direct league phase berths.
Meanwhile, one additional slot will be handed to the "Champions Path" qualifying rounds, which see league champions from smaller countries duke it out for league phase spots.
Finally, and most controversially, two spots will be handed to the two highest-ranked clubs by UEFA coefficient who do not qualify for the competition by other means. This only applies to teams who have managed to qualify for either Europa League or Europa Conference League, as teams who do not qualify for Europe at all will not be elevated to Champions League status.
This is controversial as it directly panders to big clubs, as UEFA attempts to assuage clubs who otherwise might pursue their Super League aspirations.
How to buy Champions League tickets 2024/25
Once dates and times for Champions League fixtures are confirmed, the ticket process will begin. Other than the final itself, tickets cannot be purchased from UEFA directly for European matches.
Instead, the primary ticket sales are conducted by the participating clubs themselves so that fans can access them seamlessly just as they would other matches.
Once the tickets are distributed, fans can still get tickets on secondary market, with StubHub International as the best place to find tickets to Champions League games.
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