The one who is preparing to start will be the last Champions League played with the format which has accompanied the event for several years now.
32 teams divided into eight groups of four teams each, with the first two of each group accessing the knockout stage starting from the round of 16 with round-trip matches up to the semi-finals included, before the final in a one-off match.
From next season, however, the revolution starts, starting with the number of participating teams which rise to 36. In addition to the current 32, four more places will therefore be added.
One will go to the fourth-placed player of the fifth federation in the Uefa ranking and another will rightfully go to a winner of one of the championships not at the top of the ranking. The last two slots will be instead awarded to the associations that achieved the best collective result in the previous season.
The best two in the ranking, therefore, will benefit from an extra place to be determined on the basis of their position in the championship without reducing the number of participants in the Europa League and Conference League.
The 36 teams will then placed in a single group and each team will play eight matches always against different opponents determined by drawing lots.
Ad access the round of 16 they will be the top eight at the end of the single round. The teams ranked from ninth to 24th will play the play-offs with two legs. The winners of these playoffs will be paired with the eight qualified directly to the round of 16. From here, the route resumes as the current one.
The 12 eliminated from the single group will not take part in the Europa League or the Conference League, but they will be out of any European competition for the current season.
Photo: LaPresse
2023-08-23 17:38:43
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