To constantly evolve and make changes is one of the common things for every aspect of our society, including sports. Sometimes, changes are a must. Other times, it’s just alternatives that may be great but may not be so.
In relation to this, I couldn’t help but bring the newest Champions League format changes into question. There’s a literal wave of fans and journalists discussing this matter.
The entire story comes down to two things. The first one is how the new changes in the most elite football club league in the world affect the game and players. The second relates to, of course, the fans’ reaction to it.
What Do These Champions League Format Changes Actually Mean?
Having the new Champions League format explained would primarily mean understanding the new “league” phase. Instead of the group stage, the Champions League 2024/25 season will feature the “league” phase.
This stage will consist of 36 teams, four more clubs than before. The majority of clubs will still comprise teams from the top five European leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 11).
The officials said that the draw would include four pots. It’s interesting that the executives plan to make draws using a computer. Each team will play against one team from each of the four pots twice. Therefore, every team will play eight matches. This means that all the clubs will play two more games than they used to.
The point-awarding system will be the same as before. In other words, teams will get three points for each win, one point for every draw, and no points for a loss. Ultimately, the top eight clubs will go straight to the Round of 16 phase.
Teams ranked 9-16 will play against clubs ranked 17-24. The winners will join the first eight teams in the Round of 16 stage. The losers will be eliminated. This goes for the club ranking 25-36 before the playoffs. From this round onwards, this competition will look the same as before.
How Will This Affect Fans?
After seeing the new Champions League format example, there was an expected outburst among fans. It goes without saying that the majority of football admirers did not like the latest Champions League format changes.
One of the main reasons, as they say, is that they see no end in competitiveness in the Premier League. This is because more clubs from this league can join the CL now. It leads us to another potential problem: the pressure on the Premier League to decrease the number of teams to 18.
By doing this, the Premier League will offer fairer opportunities to clubs to become part of the Champions League. In addition, there’s a Champions League ban preventing teams from this competition from signing players from other teams that are also part of it.
This will prevent non-elite clubs from acquiring new, young, and talented players. Some coaches were also not fond of this format. For instance, Guardiola was concerned that such a format would put more pressure on players, with more games to play.
