Everything you need to know about Champions League 2024-25 season: New format, schedule, calendar updates

Published at :February 14, 2024 at 2:36 PM

Modified at :February 14, 2024 at 2:36 PM

The UCL will become a 36-team competition soon

Excitement is building for the UEFA Champions League (UCL) 2024–25 season as football fans eagerly await its start. This esteemed league, which is adored by football fans all around the world, is expected to produce another exciting display of elite football action.

This will be the inaugural season of the new format for Europe’s premier club competition, which is in its 70th year and has been called the UEFA Champions League for 33 seasons. It begins on July 9th, 2024, and lasts until Saturday, May 31, 2025, when the final is held.

We will cover all you need to know about the upcoming UCL season in our extensive guide, including format changes, schedules and more.

Champions Leagues Format Changes in 2024-25

From 2024-25, the UEFA Champions League will become a 36-team competition and adopt the Swiss model. This change will result in no more groups or teams being placed into one big table. Each team will only play eight games in this league phase against eight different teams, with four at home four-way matches.

The final League table will be decided after eight games, with teams from 1st to 8th automatically qualifying for the round of 16, while those from 9th to 24th go into a Playoff round to secure the final eight places in the round of 16.The Playoff round will consist of two legs, with the highest place team playing the lowest team, and there will be no draw whatsoever. Teams that finish higher in the league phase will have a more favourable route, as they cannot face teams placed third, fourth, fifth, or sixth until the semi-final. From this point, there are no more draws, and teams will meet the teams that advance through their side of the bracket all the way into the final.However, the question remains whether this change will be an improvement and if it can introduce some positives.The head-to-head clashes between 9th and 24th place teams will be exciting, as they will not face each other until the final. The knockouts will proceed as planned, and the tournament will be similar to the old-school European Cup, with a draw before the last 16 in the quarterfinals.

The expansion of the group stage will accommodate more teams and increase the number of matches, intensifying the battle for progression to the knockout stages. The revamped knockout format promises more drama and unpredictability, with fewer second-leg fixtures and potentially decisive matches decided on neutral grounds.

Calendar Updates

The Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League will be played between September and January, with each competition having one exclusive matchweek. Matches will be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the Champions League exclusive week, Wednesday and Thursday in the Europa League exclusive week, and Thursday in the Europa Conference League exclusive week.

All games will be played simultaneously on the last matchday of each competition’s league phases.

Champions League Match Schedule 2024-25

Champions League Qualifiers

First Qualifying round: 9/10 & 16/17 July 2024
Second Qualifying round: 23/24 & 30/31 July 2024
Third Qualifying round: 6/7 & 13 August 2024
Play-offs: 20/21 & 27/28 August 2024

Champions League stage marches

Matchday 1: 17-19 September 2024
Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024
Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024
Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024
Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024
Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024
Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2024
Matchday 8: 29 January 2025

Champions League Knockout Stage

Knockout round play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025
Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025
Quarter Finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025
Semi-Finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025
Final: 31 May 2025

Champion League Draws

First qualifying round: 18 June 2024
Second qualifying round: 19 June 2024
Third qualifying round: 22 July 2024
Play-offs: 5 August 2024
League phase: 29 August 2024
Knockout round play-offs: 31 January 2025
Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final: 21 February 2025

Where will 2025’s Champions League final be held?

The pinnacle of European football’s club schedule, the UEFA Champions League, will make its first visit to Munich, Germany, in 2024–2025.

The stadium, which is owned by Bayern München, is situated on Werner-Heisenberg-Allee and was finished on April 30, 2005. It hosted four games during UEFA EURO 2020 and will serve as the stadium for UEFA EURO 2024, making it the first stadium in history to hold games during two consecutive UEFA European Championships. It can hold 67,000 spectators for that particular tournament.

What about the Europa League and Europa Conference League Formats?

The UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League, which will be renamed the UEFA Conference League as of 2024–2025, will also undergo similar format changes. Both competitions will have 36 teams participating in the league phase, with eight matches and eight different opponents in the league phase.

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