Kolkata : The revamped format of UCL saw it’s League phase draw on August 29, 2024.
What’s the new rule?
The revamped format will see the number of teams participating increase from 32 to 36. All 36 clubs will participate in a single league phase, instead of the previous group stage format where 32 participants are divided into 8 groups of 4.
Each team will face off against eight different teams, playing half of those matches at home and the other half away. The teams will be divided into four pots containing teams of similar strengths based on individual club coefficients.
Each team will then be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
They’ll be then drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
The top eight teams after the league phase will qualify for the knockout rounds while the teams ranked 9th to 24th will take part in two-legged playoffs to secure a spot in the round of 16.
The 9th to 16th ranked teams will be seeded in the knockout phase play-off draw, meaning they will face a team placed 17th to 24th – with, in principle, the return leg at home.
The 8 teams that qualify will each face one of the top 8 finishers.
Teams that finish 25th or lower in the league phase will be eliminated, with no access to the UEFA Europa League.
From the round of 16 onwards, the competition will continue to follow its existing format of knockout rounds leading to the final staged at a neutral venue selected by UEFA.
The same format will also be applied in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League.
Draw pots results –
The 36 teams are divided into 4 Pots.
Pot 1 can be called the ‘Pot of Death’, with teams like Arch rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, PSG and so on.
Pot 2 will see teams like AC Milan, Arsenal, Leverkusen, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and so on. Pot 3 & Pot 4 have much lower capacity teams comparatively. Debutant Slovan Bratislava is in Pot 4.
Here’s the summary of all pots :
POT 1
Real Madrid (ESP)
Manchester City (ENG)
Bayern München (GER)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Liverpool (ENG)
Inter (ITA)
Dortmund (GER)
Leipzig (GER)
Barcelona (ESP)
POT 2
Leverkusen (GER)
Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
Atalanta (ITA)
Juventus (ITA)
Benfica (POR)
Arsenal (ENG)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
AC Milan (ITA)
POT 3
Feyenoord (NED)
Sporting CP (POR)
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
GNK Dinamo (CRO)
Salzburg (AUT)
Lille (FRA)
Crvena Zvezda (SRB)
Young Boys (SUI)
Celtic (SCO)
POT 4
Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Monaco (FRA)
Sparta Praha (CZE)
Aston Villa (ENG)
Bologna (ITA)
Girona (ESP)
Stuttgart (GER)
Sturm Graz (AUT)
Brest (FRA)
