Has the new Champions League format been a success so far?
This season, the UEFA Champions League saw its biggest overhaul in a long time as the competition format changed.
The competition, along with the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League, used a ‘Swiss’ style for this year’s competition, with 36 teams participating instead of 32 in a new league format.
How has the format changed?
For over two decades, 32 teams were split into eight groups in the initial phase of the Champions League. Each team played each other home and away, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the knockout stages and the third-place team dropping into the Europa League.
In the new system, teams are grouped into expanded league stages, as each team plays eight matches, with all 36 teams playing four home and away games against different opponents. However, they do not face every team home and away.
The team’s results will determine where they are in the 36-team league table, with the top eight teams advancing to the knockout round automatically.
The teams who finish in the next 16 positions then face a two-legged play-off to determine who will progress to the knockout stages of the competition.
However, the teams who are placed from ninth place to 16th in the table will be seeded for the play-off against the teams who finish between 17th and 24th place.
The winners of the play-offs will then face one of the teams who have finished in the top eight. The teams who have qualified without a play-off will be seeded.
The competition then reverts back to a last-16 knockout tournament with two-legged home and away ties. One change from the old format is that no teams drop down into the Europa League anymore, so the teams who finish outside the league’s play-off spots exit European football for the season.
More clubs get to participate
Some cynics will say that the new format is just designed as a money grab by both the participating clubs and UEFA.
However, the main idea of the new format is that more clubs would get the chance to participate. Meanwhile, the race for qualification for the knockout stages would be more entertaining, with fewer games being dead rubbers in groups that contain teams who are far stronger than their opponents.
In turn, the games should be more exciting for fans, who will potentially get to see their teams in more meaningful games.
It might mean more of an expense to the fans, but the ticket availability is good. More games mean more chances to see their team on special European nights, especially as with Ticket-Compare it’s easier to attend your favourite team’s games in Europe’s elite football competition than ever.
Some surprising teams have struggled in the new format
The Champions League has offered its usual excitement in the current campaign. One aspect of the competition in season 2024/25 has been the struggles of some of the favourites to lift the trophy, such as European champions Real Madrid and English giants Manchester City.
At the time of writing, Real Madrid sits in 20th place in the table, having picked up three wins and suffered three defeats. Another win should ensure Carlo Ancelotti’s team manages to at least make the play-offs, while a top-eight finish is not impossible if now challenging to achieve.
Manchester City have been having a nightmare campaign by their incredibly high standards. The Citizens have picked up just eight points from their six European games so far.
Pep Guardiola’s team are just a point above the 25th-place team. City exiting the Champions League at the initial stage of the competition would be a massive shock.
Another club that has struggled in the competition is PSG, who are outside even the play-off spots and sits in 25th place in the standings. The Parisians are one point outside the top 24, so they may still well squeeze into the play-off spots.
One team that has already exited the competition are the highly ambitious German outfit RB Leipzig, who have lost all six of their games in the competition. Marco Rose’s team would have at least hoped to finish in the play-off spots.
Leipzig compatriots Bayern will also be disappointed with their performance in the competition this season, as they are sitting in tenth place in the table. However, they are only one point off the automatic qualification spots, and Vincent Kompany’s team will be confident of finishing in those all-important top-eight spots.
At the other end of the spectrum, French club Brest has been one of the surprise packages in the competition. They are currently in eighth place in the standings. They need just a point to ensure that they at least earn a play-off spot.
Has the format change been a success?
The new format may well have added some intrigue to the Champions League, with some of Europe’s biggest teams not necessarily having it all their own way in the competition opening phase.
It’s refreshing to see some of the usual suspects having to work slightly harder to reach the knockout stages.
If the new champions league format is a success, I’d use that the next euros
— 𝗣𝗘𝗗 🇪🇺 (@PED7) June 26, 2024
It is too early to say if it’s been a massive success, and this sort of overhaul will always have its plus and minuses. Maybe it will be easier to judge the success of the new format at the end of the season. Then, we will be able to measure such things as game attendance and worldwide viewing figures.
Until then, it would be difficult to say that this season’s competition hasn’t been entertaining. Hopefully, it will continue in a similar vein, and the rest of the competition will provide fans with as much entertainment as we have seen in the first six gameweeks so far.