Man City and Manchester United are set for champion League change as new format decided
Manchester City are heading for another year of Champions League football though Manchester United still have work to do
A Champions League qualifying round draw at the UEFA headquarters
A Champions League qualifying round draw at the UEFA headquarters
UEFA will computerise Champions League draws from next season due to the new competition structure that comes into effect from 2024/25.
The number of teams competing in Europe’s elite competition will rise from 32 to 36, with teams now playing eight group-stage games and competing in one giant league table.
There will be four pots of nine teams, with sides being drawn against two sides from each pot, and it won’t be possible for clubs of the same country to face each other during the group stage phase.
UEFA have decided against drawing each club manually, as has been the case over the years, as it is estimated the new format would require 900 balls and take between three and four hours to conduct.
It has also been confirmed a tennis-style seeding system will then come into play for the knockout rounds, ensuring sides who finished first and second in the group phase cannot meet each other in the competition before the semi-finals.
Clubs that finish between first and eighth in the group table will automatically qualify for the round of 16. The knockout stage will follow the current system. Sides that finish between ninth and 24th will contest a two-legged play-off, resulting in the eight victors also progressing to the last 16.
An increase in competitors will also have a profound impact on the already-bloated football calendar. Indeed, there will now be a total of 189 Champions League matches from 2024/25, compared to the existing total of 125.
Manchester City are virtually guaranteed a place in next season’s Champions League due to their current position in the Premier League standings, though Manchester United must make up ground on both Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa in their remaining ten matches of the campaign.
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