Following consultations with stakeholders in the game, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) executive committee on Tuesday confirmed a new format for the Champions League from the start of the 2024-25 season.
The reformatted group stage would still grow from 32 to 36 teams starting in 2024 but the number of rounds will only jump from six to eight per team rather than 10.
The Europa League will also follow the format of the new Champions League with eight matches in the league stage. There had previously been a plan that each team would play 10 games at that point of the competition as part of the new "Swiss model".
"The eight matches of the UEFA Champions League will be played over the ten European weeks foreseen by the decision made in April 2021. The UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League will all enjoy one week of calendar exclusivity," UEFA said in a statement.
"The four additional places created by the increase from 32 to 36 teams in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League will be allocated," it added.
The four additional places created by the increase from 32 to 36 teams in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League will be allocated as follows:
One place will go to the club ranked third in the championship of the association in fifth position in the UEFA national association ranking.
One place will be awarded to a domestic champion by extending from four to five the number of clubs qualifying via the so-called “Champions Path”.
The final two places will go to the associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the previous season (total number of points obtained divided by the number of participating clubs). Those two associations will earn one place for the club best ranked in the domestic league behind the UEFA Champions League positions. For example, at the end of the current season the two associations adding one club to the Champions League, based on the collective performance of their clubs would be England and the Netherlands.
The UEFA Executive Committee once again confirmed that all games before the final will still be played midweek, recognising the importance of the domestic calendar of games across Europe.
Commenting on the decisions, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said, "UEFA has clearly shown today that we are fully committed to respecting the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principle of open competitions, with qualification based on sporting merit, fully in line with the values and solidarity-based European sports model.
"Today's decisions conclude an extensive consultation process during which we listened to the ideas of fans, players, coaches, national associations, clubs, and leagues to name but a few, with the aim to find the best solution for the development and success of European football, both domestically and on the international club stage," he added.
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