New Champions League Format to Utilize Computerised Draw System for 36-team Competition

Uefa has unveiled a groundbreaking new format for the Champions League, set to kick in from the 2024-2025 season, featuring an expanded 36-team competition. To navigate the complexity of this new structure, Uefa has opted to employ a computerised draw system to select fixtures. This decision comes after it was estimated that a manual draw could take up to four hours due to the intricate considerations involved.

The revamped Champions League will see all teams placed in one league table, where each club will engage in a series of eight games – four at their home ground and four away. To determine the fixture schedule, teams will be divided into four pots, each consisting of nine teams. The order within these pots will be based on Uefa’s five-year performance coefficient, ensuring a fair distribution.

Under the new system, teams will face opponents from each of the four pots, with restrictions in place to prevent clubs from the same country competing against each other in the initial stages. While the ceremonial part of selecting the team whose fixtures will be drawn manually remains, the computer will take over to allocate their opponents and decide the home and away fixtures.

Uefa has emphasized the robustness of its computer systems, noting that they are subjected to audits by Ernst & Young to guarantee fairness in the draw process. Additionally, the league phase will culminate in two limited knockout-round draws: one at the end of January and another at the end of February to determine the bracket positions, with no draws for the quarterfinals and semifinals.

A key insight into the new format is the maximum number of clubs permitted from a single association, capped at seven in the Champions League. Hypothetically, powerhouses like Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord, and Real Madrid could all contend for glory in the competition, with the potential for a staggering 11 clubs across different European competitions from top leagues.