The UEFA Champions League has been held for many seasons in the old format - 32 teams divided into groups and played in a double round-robin to determine the teams that advance. However, over time, with more and more "unsuccessful" matches - as the UEFA defends it, they have decided to change.
The new format is promised to reduce less attractive matches but still earn more money.
Accordingly, the number of matches in the 2024-2025 Champions League will increase by 66.7% compared to the 2023-2024 season. The tournament has developed significantly and the new format will certainly bring some exciting new things. Even the draw ceremony will be different, when there is no longer a group stage but will be called a "league".
When will the 2024-2025 Champions League draw take place?
Big teams from across Europe will find their opponents in the 2024-2025 Champions League on Thursday, August 29, 2024, with a draw held at Grimaldi Forum, Monaco.
The draw ceremony starts at 23:00 (Vietnam time) and will be broadcast live on UEFA.com.
Which teams are participating?
Many familiar names will participate in the 2024-2025 Champions League, with some countries having up to 5 teams. In total, 36 teams started in the league stage.
Europa League champions Atalanta will face AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Bologna to represent Serie A.
Germany's Bundesliga also has five representatives after an impressive 2023-2024 season, including Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, who finished fifth in the Bundesliga but reached the Champions League final last season.
In La Liga, in addition to giants like Barcelona, Real Madrid - the defending champions, and Atletico Madrid, Girona is a rookie in the Champions League.
The Premier League also has only 4 teams: Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool along with Aston Villa.
The play-offs will determine the remaining 7 clubs to qualify for the league stage of the 2024-2025 Champions League.
How to draw
There are some similarities to previous years, with 36 teams divided into 4 seed groups based on their UEFA coefficient. However, the change in format means that teams will not be divided into groups.
Instead, each team will draw with 2 opponents from all 4 groups to form 8 of their opponents.
Each team will be drawn manually, but their opponents will be created through AI software, which will also decide which matches will be played at home and away.
Each team plays 4 matches at home and 4 matches away.
Each team can draw up to 2 teams from the same country and cannot compete with teams from the same Federation.
Competition schedule
Round 1: September 17-19, 2024
Round 2: 1-2.10.2024
Round 3: 22-23.10.2024
Round 4: 5-6.11.2024
Round 5: 26-27.11.2024
Round 6: 10-11.12.2024
Round 7: 21-22.2025
Round 8: January 29, 2025
UEFA's club-level tournaments including the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League will be on VTVcab infrastructure for 3 seasons, from 2024-2025 to 2026-2027.
