New Format for Champions League 2024/25
European football is just around the corner so we take a look at the new format for Champions League 2024/25. There is going to be some huge changes in Europe’s biggest club competition this season and we cover them all here.
UCL Fantasy managers will have navigate their way through change this season so highlighting the new format for Champions League 2024/25 could be vital. Knowing how those changes are going to affect the game will be key towards our Matchday 1 team, transfers, captaincy and chips.
The New Format
Firstly you can find a condensed version of the new Champions League format in the video below.
What are the key changes?
The biggest change from the current format revealed by the UEFA Executive Committee is a move away from the Group Phases.
Originally the Group Phase had 32 teams participating. However, with the recent change 36 teams will now compete. Those 36 teams will compete in one big league, rather than being divided into Groups.
Each of the 36 teams involved in the new format will play eight matches. Those eight matches will be against eight different opposition in the same league. The same teams will play four matches at home and four matches away from home.
To decide the fixtures the teams will be ranked in four pots. Each team will then be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
How do teams advance?
As with most leagues, winning a match earns a side three points and drawing a match earns just one point. Those points decide the overall ranking of the league.
The teams who finish in positions 1-8 automatically qualify to the Round of 16. Teams who finish between 9th-24th have to battle it out in a two-legged knock-out phase play-off to reach the next round. Teams who finish lower than 25th will exit the competition completely.
What does the change mean for UCL Fantasy managers?
The change from a Group Stage format to a League format does mean change for UCL Fantasy managers.
One of the most significant changes UCL Fantasy managers have to navigate is the fact there will now be 17 Matchdays. This is four more Matchdays than the original format. This of course also means more transfers, more captaincy attempts and more opportunities to gain rank in general.
The new format also means that UCL Fantasy managers have two-legged knockout matches to manage for teams who finish between 9th-24th place. Ahead of the round UCL Fantasy managers are provided with unlimited transfers. Managers are also given unlimited transfers in the Round of 16 as usual. You can see this reflected in the graphic below:
As normal there is a limit to how many players we can own from each club at different times. We can see that managers have the ability to own up to four players from a club during the knockout round play-offs.
The final change worth noting is that on Matchday 8 (the League Phase), all matches kick-off at the same time. This means that UCL Fantasy managers cannot make manual substitutions or change their captain. This suggests that we should put all our focus into the starting XI, whilst also making sure we choose our captain very carefully.
You can find all of the key dates for the 2024/25 Champions League campaign here.
