No group stage? UEFA is planning the Champions League in a new format from 2024

No more group stages: this is how UEFA is planning the Champions League of the future

The group stage in the Champions League can be boring, as is currently the case in Group C, where Manchester City and Porto are clearly qualified for the knockout stage before the final matchday. Or it can be extremely exciting, like in Group B, where Borussia Mönchengladbach, Schachtar Donezk, Inter and Real Madrid can still make it to the last 16.

If UEFA has its way, the current format should soon become history. As reported by the British newspaper “The Times”, the continental association plans to completely change the top level in 2024. The so-called “Swiss system” is said to be the favorite of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and Co., where the a groups as we know it today would be completely abolished.

Instead, the 32 entrants would compete against each other in a league, with each team playing at least ten games. Who competes against whom should be determined by lot. At the end of this preliminary round, the first leg of the second round continues, where the best placed team would meet the team in 16th place. The remaining pairings would then be split according to this system. There would no longer be a tie for pairings.

Teams from positions 17 to 24 would be relegated to the Europa League knockout stage. The European season would be over for the remaining eight teams. Discussions about changes in European competition have been going on for a long time. The idea of ​​a European “super league” is also not out of the question. (abu)