The European football body approved Tuesday the new format of the Champions League, which will include more teams, a mini-championship and an additional French club if France retains its rank in the European ranking.
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If the Champions League reform, adopted Tuesday, May 10 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), took effect from next season, AS Monaco – if the current third of Ligue 1 retains its place on the podium – would be guaranteed to participate. Meeting in executive committee in Vienna, the body presiding over continental football has validated a revisited format for its queen competition.
In addition to a third place directly qualifying for the fifth European nation (ie France to date), this reform of a first version adopted last year confirms the transition to a mini-championship as a phase of groups, and attributes the latest places in the heritage on sports criteria.
A new format: the end of the group phases
Now at 36 (against 32 until then), the teams competing in the Champions League will no longer be divided into groups of four. In the new formula, the first phase of the competition becomes a kind of championship integrating all the teams. And each club will face eight different teams (four at home, four outside); therefore competinging two more games than in the current format (against four more during the reform adopted in April 2021).
controversial, because adding matches to a saturated calendar, this new format aims to satisfy both broadcasters (with 225 games in total against 125 today), clubs, insured of higher ticket office income – Y Included in the event of early elimination -, and viewers in search of prestigious posters.
The eight best teams of this first phase will be directly qualified for the final stages, and the clubs classified between the 9 e and the 24
Main change in the facade ripolinage made Tuesday by UEFA, the question of the two places remaining to be attributed evolves. Last year, when the Super League threatened to split European football, the European body had attempted to reassure the big clubs tempted by the adventure, by reserving the last two tickets for “historic” clubs, which would not be Not managed to qualify in the championship. But the wheel has turned, and UEFA has returned to these pledges: now, the last two places will be allocated to the championships whose teams will have shone the most in Europe the previous season. Thus, this year, England and the Netherlands would be rewarded for the results of their clubs in continental competitions.
In this, UEFA heard the call of supporters and many observers that the sesames for its competition are only dropped out on the ground. Like an echo at the “Earn It” (“deserves”) displayed on the training t-shirts of Leeds players, before facing Chelsea in the aftermath of the secession at the super league.
“UEFA has clearly shown today that we are fully attached to respect for the fundamental values of sport and to the defense of the key principle of open competitions, with a qualification based on sporting merit”, insisted Aleksander Ceferin , UEFA Slovenian President, In a press release .
Deployed in the 2024-2025 season, the Champions League reform will be accompanied by a reform of the Europa League and the Europa Conference League, modeled on this model of “mini-championship”. And if this new formula is not going to lighten the calendar – saturated – European clubs, UEFA acted on Tuesday that with the exception of the final, all the meetings will continue to play in the middle of the week, a confirmation expected by The national leagues that usually play on weekends.