In the modern football landscape, change is a given and inevitable. Few events compare to the exhilaration and repute that the UEFA Champions League brings to the fans, players, and managers.
Since UEFA announced that there will be a new format for the Champions League, there has been a wave of controversy and opinions coming in from both players and managers. Has this revamped tournament borrowed some ‘ideas’ from the highly controversial European Super League? Is it just an innocent update or the beginning of a legal European Super League? Let’s dive into both tournaments and unravel the mysteries surrounding the UEFA Champions League’s latest revamp.
UEFA Champions League New Format
The tournament will feature 36 teams, up from the current 32 teams. All teams will be placed on the same table and drawn against eight opponents. Each team will then play four home and four away games in a league phase. This is compared to the current group stage, where each team plays three home games and three away games, and the two top teams in every group proceed to the knockout stage.
The teams will initially be placed in four seeded pots based on ranking to determine the different opponents a team will face. Each team will then be drawn to play two opponents from each pot in one home game and one away game. The current format requires a team to play a home and away game against the same opponent.
The teams that finish 1-8 in the league qualify automatically for the Round of 16 stage, while the teams ranked 9-24 will compete in a two-legged playoff to determine the other eight teams that will reach the knockout stage.
The teams that finish 25-36 will be eliminated from the competition. This is unlike the current format, where the third-placed team in the group plays the lower tier of the respective competition.
The teams that win the playoffs will then face the top eight teams in Round 16 before the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final.
The tournament will see the number of total games played increase from 125 games to 189 games.
The Irony of the New Structure
At first glance, the changes seem very bland. More teams, more matches, more fun! This is every fan’s dream. What’s not to love?
With the UEFA Champions League being the pinnacle of club football, the new format blurs the lines between tradition and innovation. On one hand, introducing a 36-team league-style structure is the same as the proposed European Super League model. On the other hand, the drama of the underdog victories, elite teams losing, and the thrill of knockout rounds is preserved.
The Legal Loopholes
By operating within the required and existing legal framework, UEFA seems to have found loopholes for implementing comprehensive changes without invoking mass protests and fan uproar compared to when the European Super League was initially announced.
The format and structure are similar between the European Super League and the new UEFA Champions League.
Financial and Power Play
The world revolves around money. With the new UEFA Champions League format, UEFA has prioritized commercial and financial gain over sticking to tradition and letting the tournament remain a bastion of meritocracy.
If it isn’t broken, why fix it?
With four additional teams and the likelihood of more lucrative teams qualifying for the tournament, UEFA is set to increase revenue with the new format. UEFA announced that there will be an increase in the prize money from $2.15 billion to $2.65 billion, with the additional sum being shared amongst the four new teams.
Not only will the tournament become a battle for glory on the pitch, but a battle for financial supremacy while at it.
So, what exactly is the truth? Only time will answer whether the new UEFA Champions League is a legal Super League in disguise or a progressive step forward in an attempt to adapt to the changing landscape of modern football.
One thing we can be sure of is that our love and passion for the game will continue to unite us despite all the football politics.
