UEFA has introduced a new Champions League format set to take effect from 2024.
UEFA officials, clubs, and leagues were all reportedly involved and agreed to the revisions.
The most significant addition is the expanded format which will increase the number of group stage matches to eight from six.
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 plan will now be voted on at the executive committee meeting as the UEFA club competitions committee has agreed to the format tweaks.
That was the easy part, the new Champions League format gets a little confusing from here.
Two additional places in the expanded format will be awarded to the two countries with the highest UEFA ranking based on their teams’ results in European competitions the previous season.
It means that if the system was already in place, the fifth-place team in England would qualify for the Champions League because of Man City, West Ham reaching the European semifinals, and Liverpool who face Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
A second automatic place would go to the Netherlands. The team finishing third in the Dutch league, Feyenoord currently, would get a chance to enter the qualifying rounds.
The original plan that sparked backlash would have awarded the two places to teams with the strongest five-season record in Europe who failed to qualify through their domestic leagues.
An additional spot will see a team qualify from the fifth-ranked country in Europe — regularly France — and the fifth slot for domestic champions who don’t qualify automatically.
The first main stage of the new-look Champions League will see teams placed in a single standing rather than eight groups.
Only eight teams will qualify automatically for the round of 16.
Any team finishing up to 24th out of the 36 teams will go through a playoff to secure entry into the 16-team round.
There would be 10 weeks set aside for European games from 2024 but two weeks are set to be reserved for the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
The 32-team Champions League currently produces 96 games in the group stage. Dropping from 10 to eight games per team will make an extra 64 games rather than 100 before the round of 16.
As a result, UEFA predicts a revenue increase of about 40% from the current €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) annually from its club competitions.
