The UEFA Champions League, the world’s largest football club competition, is scheduled to undergo major changes, including a revamped knockout round system. For the knockout phase, UEFA is exploring a tennis-style approach in which the drawings are pre-drawn based on the teams’ rankings.
Because of the format changes, clubs from the same country will no longer be able to play each other until the quarter-finals. This means that Barcelona and Real Madrid, or Manchester City and Liverpool, will be able to play each other in the Round of 16.
According to specifications, the 24 teams that qualify for the champions league’s first knockout phase will already know their path to the competition’s final. As in the Tennis Grand Slams, the route will be selected by seedings.
The top two teams will not play each other until the competition’s final, putting them on opposite sides of the draw. This is in keeping with UEFA’s announcement a few months ago that the event will be overhauled.
The number of clubs in the competition will expand from 32 to 36, and they will participate in a single ‘Swiss-system’ league table rather than being divided into separate groups under the new structure.
The following are the specifics of the new format:
The top 24 teams from the group stage will advance to the next round, while the worst 12 teams will be eliminated from the competition.
Teams in the top eight positions will advance to the round of 16, where they will be seeded.
The knock-out play-offs will pit teams placed 9-24 against each other, with the winners qualifying for the round of 16 and the losers being ousted from the tournament.
The knock-out round will be divided into two sections, with the top two placed at opposite ends of the bracket.
Depending on their seedings, teams ranked 3 to 16 will be placed at opposite sides of the bracket.
From the 2024-25 seasons forward, the new format will be in place. UEFA will make an official announcement on the format changes in due time.
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