TechUEFA scraps tradition and turns to tech for future Champions League drawsNew Champs League format could take up to four hours if done manually.When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechUEFA scraps tradition and turns to tech for future Champions League drawsNew Champs League format could take up to four hours if done manually.When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
New Champs League format could take up to four hours if done manually.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images)
(Image credit: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images)
Quick SummaryThe new 36-team Champions League format comes into effect for next season, but is so complex that UEFA is having to turn to computers for the official draw.A manual trial run saw the draw process take up to four hours to complete, hence the change.
The new 36-team Champions League format comes into effect for next season, but is so complex that UEFA is having to turn to computers for the official draw.A manual trial run saw the draw process take up to four hours to complete, hence the change.
The new 36-team Champions League format comes into effect for next season, but is so complex that UEFA is having to turn to computers for the official draw.A manual trial run saw the draw process take up to four hours to complete, hence the change.
The new 36-team Champions League format comes into effect for next season, but is so complex that UEFA is having to turn to computers for the official draw.
A manual trial run saw the draw process take up to four hours to complete, hence the change.
UEFA’s drastic restructure of the Champions League from next season is set for at least one sacrifice – the traditional, televised manual draw.
It’s not yet known how this might be presented, but anyone who’s played the latest Football Manager 2024 might already understand the system, as that features the new format and computer-aided draws.
The new Champions League format includes 36 teams (there were 32 entering the group stage this year). Each team will play eight fixtures, but there are no individual groups, as such.
Instead, all of the teams are entered into the same table with the top eight at the end of the stage going forward automatically into the first knockout round. The following 16 will then be pitted against each other in playoffs to determine the last eight places.
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Now you can see why it’ll take technology to decide the matches. It makes our heads hurt just trying to think of the different options and, particularly, how to make it absolutely fair.
What about the Champions League knockout rounds?
The fun doesn’t even stop there. There are big changes to the knockout stages too.
The new format adopts a similar seeding structure to tennis Opens. Those finishing in the first eight places in the table will be separated based on their position, meaning the top two cannot face one another until the final if they get there.
To be honest, we actually like this tweak to the system, as it’s easier to see which teams can face each other in each round.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see the first draw this autumn, to see if the tech even holds up. Let’s hope it’s not being run on a Commodore Vic 20, eh?
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