What You Need To Know About The New UEFA Champions League Format Starting In The 2024/25 Season

[@HaroldinhoFC]

How UCL Qualifying Stages Work: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaOofHenaMiKb9E

[@George_1098]

The only people that want to see “Big teams face off” more often are either casuals or younger fans. If we get the matchups between the “Big teams” more often it takes away from the special feeling the match ups bring. Personally I enjoy upsets, Ajax (more of a historic team than “big”) 2019 was a beautiful run, with many upsets. It started in group stages being undefeated and eliminating Benfica and beating Bayern in one game & trying the other. Then the knockout round was so memorable. Watching the “Big clubs” get knockout early or get upset can still happen in this format, not saying it can’t, but adding 2 games and potentially 2 more for the teams not in the top 8 is not it. Especially with World Cup qualifiers, Club World Cup next summer, and expanded World Cup. More injuries are bound to happen. Fans complained about the Euro’s how France & England played unattractive football, we will see that more often.

[@WinstonGordon-j5s]

It's gonna end up being stupid because more injuries on top of things

[@Relevance4life]

It’s more fun, injuries are good

[@eliasjonsson1464]

@@Relevance4lifeIts all about money, Uefa just want money. Nothing else.

[@Relevance4life]

@@eliasjonsson1464 who cares? As long as it means more interesting games, I don’t care who makes the money

[@barabasgezu]

Sadly, people at Uefa doesnt care about injuries. All that matters is making money.

[@Jojken]

I am sure they will adapt if so because of the big money. For instance maybe, just thinking out loud, change players hockey style during the game. Maybe every 15 minutes or something. Give bench players more time is win!

[@Aselia-q6w]

The healthiest take on this thus far! Great work

[@power279]

Uefa: here..super league version 1.0😂

[@anonymous-uc3vc]

well tbh its a very good decision. normally we get 1 exciting group and other groups are basically easy to predict. as a result group stages becomes unenjoyable. but now it's not gonna be that case . also as he mentioned after 4 matches when top teams secures their top spot they start playing their bench team , which won't happen as the league position also very much matters

[@adrian225]

5:57 that's actually incorrect. According to the official UEFA website, it won't be "9th vs 24th, 10th vs 23rd, ...", instead the pairs will be drawin with teams 9-16 being in one pot (UEFA calls those teams the "seeded" teams), teams 17-24 in another (those are the "unseeded" teams), with teams 9-16 additionally securing homeground advantage in the return leg. Then, the teams that advance from the playoff round are all in one pot for the round of 16 draw, teams that took places 1-8 in the league phase in another, with teams from places 1-8 also securing home ground advantage in the return leg.

[@StillMossi]

I kinda like the idea bc it give chances for smaller teams and will make it a lil bit harder but considering the injury crisis liverpool had last season as a liverpool fan we gonna be starting our reserves 😂 at this point

[@declangaming24]

2 extra group games for UCL /UEL conference league will be fine 6 group games. However an extra knockout playoff round will add 2 extra knockout matches for the UCL. Europa and conference league already had a playoff round.

[@HaroldinhoFC]

I agree, the risk here is more games could possibly mean more injuries and more bench players getting play time.

[@declangaming24]

@@HaroldinhoFC Fifa have also brought back the confederations Cup for 2025 so players are screwed

[@MusicalTranscendence]

the goal is actually to favor rich teams. more games and less luck involved in drawing the group -> less uncertainty for the big teams and more $$$. The smaller teams get a bone thrown at them as well because they get more games in the group stages and there are more teams, but this is really to pre-empt the big teams from splitting.

[@Jojken]

@@MusicalTranscendence Well, in the long run maybe it all gets saturated. Like, you can only play 11 players and really really good players are not going to sit on the bench. They will go to other teams. So maybe money is not going to matter the way you think in the longer run. Just thinking out loud. I don´t know.

[@lifetechniques32]

That means Messi's and Ronaldo's records will be pretty easy to be broken

[@Bats-7]

I like this new format it’s going to make the group phase more competitive, it eliminates the dead rubber group games , the top 16 get rewarded skipping the play off round & no more teams dropping into different competitions , if your out your out like it should be 👍

[@alexgallion8112]

The group system worked well it lead to possible upsets and created drama with this I feel it is just greed by UEFA due to the increased amount of games if it ain’t broke don’t fix it is my opinion on this Also more games can lead to a lot more injuries

[@adamclark1972uk]

Led

[@Jojken]

I disagree. Well, it is about money first and foremost. That I agree to. But I think the games are going to get much more exciting during the autumn. If that is so for the majority then that is also where the money is. More excitement more eyes/views which is more $$$!!!

[@JoeyLu]

By looking at your video game scenes, I realized that it is not me being suck, it is EA forget to put defense into the game.

[@sambenyamin]

Great videos man. I was so surprised when i saw you only had 115 subs. 116 now!

[@HaroldinhoFC]

Thanks for the kind words and welcome! Looking to build an awesome community of football fans❤️

[@Lonestarr022]

Actually, teams from the same country can not face each other in the league phase, but can face off in any knockout round.

[@miawuwu2255]

one thing for sure: sevilla cannot win europa league straight out of champions league anymore.

[@Xenix73]

It maybe be better than the group stage, but I still don’t like it. They should bring back the old European cup format. Which made only the champions play. No 4th place nonsense. That format is how we got some of the best stories in football. UEFA disgusts me.

[@MusicalTranscendence]

it's all about money. the cup format doesn't work from a business perspective because there is too much $$$ hanging on one game -> more uncertainty.

[@MusicalTranscendence]

and actually, if you think of the history, the group system was introduced exactly because of this. big teams were threatening to break off in the early 90s unless uefa made changes that ensured they get more $.

[@SwanRonsonDonnyJepp]

I wholeheartedly agree with that statement 👌👍🇬🇧

[@kapitanvollsuff6672]

I would like it much more, if you gave those two spots that now Italy and Germany got to the next best Champions of Europe and as an compensation the extra Playoff spot for the Champions route could be given to the league route. That would lead to the field of participants representing more european countries, which makes much sense considerung it is called a EUROPEAN cup.

[@justinsm]

IDK if it could happened. I mean yeah, like Galatasaray deserved a place. And that league route could easily hold by Brest

[@MarcDonald-t1t]

Looking at it like this, if you have a really lower league team I your table because there's more points to play for you could play a weaker side like we sometimes do in the league Cup so you could make more changes and gain experience for the youth or reserve players, like I say it's more breathing space with more points to play for , we will just have to see if that is a possibility but it does create huge revenue for the top teams giving more power towards spending and widening the gap at the top.

[@justinsm]

Wouldn't really put youth especially in crucial matches. Remember when Roma just bring the 2nd squad and destroyed 6-1 by Bodo/Glimt? that could possibly happened again

[@fireproximity4225]

100th sub, keep up the good vids

[@HaroldinhoFC]

Appreciate you! Make sure I remember you for the exciting road ahead🔥

[@khalilparker1473]

It's good but not good at the same time, UEFA is gonna make more money and it's gonna be entertaining along with better opportunities for smaller clubs, but its gonna crowd club's schedules and result in more injuries

[@AstonVillaDude17]

I mean wow you are an extremely underrated youtuber (I am a new subscriber)

[@HaroldinhoFC]

Thanks for being in the first 100 subscribers! I have really exciting plans for the future of this channel❤️

[@madhumaulik171]

Two points arise:(a) this will need adjustments in league competitions of individual countries;(b) more no of games in totality(local leagues+UCL) in addition to country level games(Euro+wc qualification) would imply increased no of games per week may mean less rest for players& this may affect the standards of play. Anyhow, any new idea will hve to be reviewed for further modifications.

[@Leahcimmichael]

I want accumilated yellow cards to return. No more cynicals fouls before finals

[@Beyonder1987]

So CL is now an actual League and not a tournament

[@Lammie-nt4ks]

I love your channel, since I just subscribed😂

[@HaroldinhoFC]

Happy to hear thank you!

[@encoreunefois1X]

Now where do I pick up my diploma?

[@Muhammad88525]

More games means pricier subscriptions for the fans and more injuries for the players

[@jayfreedom]

They so desperate for their breakaway euro league they just building it bit by bit.

[@raydawson2767]

No matter how many rules you break you still get to play in it.

[@stankovivo6936]

When is the draw for clubs who play eachother?

[@HaroldinhoFC]

After the qualifiers finish which is late august, the league phase draw will happen. I just made a video on the qualifiers

[@rishavsharma2349]

What a complicated mess

[@thesniperman]

Is there any change in Europa League?

[@HaroldinhoFC]

Same as the champions league with a new 36 team league phase

[@davidatkinson-Music-and-More]

Does anyone still watch European football, if your own team isn't in it?

[@Johnny-ux7yi]

while i have my issues with the new format in regards to more games meaning more injuries, but i think this new format will end up being more beneficial for the weaker teams. in the Group stage format, especially in recent seasons, the weaker teams always had the misfortune to play in groups against opponents who significantly stronger than them. For example, Celtic being drawn in a group with Bayern, PSG and Anderlecht. And as a result, this particular format not only ended up being predictable but altogether, ended up benefitting ONLY the stronger teams. whereas with the league format, teams like Brest, Celtic, PAOK from Greece (in case they qualify) btw will be benefitted with the new format as they will be able to face opponents who are nearly equal to them (2 opponents from Pot 4).

[@MusicalTranscendence]

it's actually the opposite. there is less uncertainty for big teams now. no more groups of death. and small teams are still going to play much better opponents due to the seeding system. more games + less randomness = favors the big teams, not the small ones.

[@champan250]

You sound like a Rangers fans calling Celtics is a pretty bad team

[@Johnny-ux7yi]

@@champan250 ummmm no??? i am stating the obvious fact that the gap of quality between the best teams and the underdog teams are bigger than previously.

[@Alex-ds6sw]

​​@@MusicalTranscendenceThere are usually no group of deaths because of the 4 pots. Small teams always face the big teams in the group and then get knocked out. The only reason there could be a group of death is if teams with a lot of money come out of nowhere which is why those team are not in the top 2 pots yet (for example Milan and Newcastle). Small teams who would have gotten 3rd place in the group at best because they only faced better teams will have it easier. Also in the new format the equivalent of being third in the group is now getting you to a knockout tie which means winning over two games will be enough to get into the round of 16. So you have more randomness which favors the small teams.

[@MusicalTranscendence]

@@Alex-ds6sw not sure I agree about the 1st point. this year you got the group you described. the year before, we had inter, sevilla and city in the same group. benfica, psg and juve also. before that, liverpool, atleti, porto and milan and bayern, benfica, barca. it's much tougher than being in a group with sheriff and dynamo zagreb. but, yes, your second point is true. more knockout = more randomness = better for small teams.

[@filipponasello1390]

I don’t like this new format. It’s confusing, and more games means more player fatigue, more injuries, etc.

[@MusicalTranscendence]

i still remember when there were 2 sets of groups in the late 90s - early 2000s. you had 12 group games then quarter-finals. so it's not like it hasn't been done before.

[@BenNguyen2510]

I like it

[@grahamnewton4381]

It’s just FIFA wanting to make more money. They have no interest in the impact on clubs and players

[@eavyeavy2864]

The rejection of Super League make uefa sures, that football fans do love Establishment, no matter how bad it is

[@SN-mz6gl]

Now people will start to understand why Chelsea have been busy signing ALOT of players. Sending them to loans with obligation to come back whenever they need them. This new format will result in ALOT of injuries.

[@el_tunmbs]

It doesn’t exactly track that because they have a lot of players, they’ll be able to use them, all teams will register the same number of players for the competition. Chelsea should be more focused on qualifying first tho

[@quangnguyenviet1188]

There is also some news about new FIFA Club World cup that happens next year that Chelsea has to play because they won UCL 2021, so if they go far in 2/3 cups their schedule would be one of the most brutal ones. So players might be even more injury proned(Reece James).

[@svokxz6435]

I think the tiers are silly and I think that 1st should just play 2nd and 3 v 4 vice versa. Doesn’t matter if the club plays more home or away games or teams from the same country make it even more competitive. The weaker side in the table would get home advantage to increase competitiveness. 25th and 32nd should play each in a tournament bracket where they could requalify through the champions league through this tournament bracket just by simply winning. I think there should also be a throes place playoff so that 3 teams would qualify for the champions league if they finish on the podium I think this sort of format for the champions league should apply to the Europa league and the conference league. Otherwise I think that this format is great but it could use some fixes

[@MusicalTranscendence]

weaker teams playing at home means less money for everyone. never going to happen.

[@svokxz6435]

@@MusicalTranscendenceit would be more exciting though

[@MusicalTranscendence]

@@svokxz6435 agreed. what would be more exciting even would be a Europe-wide salary cap and distribution of incomes to level the playing field, but will never happen.

[@chinghoongleow1191]

UCL UEL UECL 2024 / 25 group stage 8 matches

[@hulluporo9067]

The new format will finally extinct my interest in this competition.

[@VeniVidiVici456]

Precisely correct!

[@michaelpyatt831]

How about champions from each European domestic league in the European cup , end of discussion, straight 2 leg knock stages, it worked perfectly back then and it had nothing wrong with it Put the runners up and third place teams in the uefa cup , cup winners in the European cup winners cup , again all straight 2 leg knock out rounds !!! Runners up, 3rd and 4th placed teams do not deserve to go into the European cup

[@Lonestarr022]

theres no money in this, and no one cares about the champion of Hungary vs the champion of Sweden.

[@argy7526]

@@Lonestarr022 sweden and hungary do

[@luanderson.ferreira]

It's a win-win change. They are making more money and we are getting bigger and better games.

[@thesniperman]

But clubs are not getting much time to catch a breather

[@VeniVidiVici456]

It's a win for UEFA because of more $. However, not so good for Fans!

[@kane2293]

​@@VeniVidiVici456why? Genuinely curious. Is it mainly fans of bigger clubs who dont like this as they make it to the last 16 anyway so this just means more games to get there as well as potentially more difficult games, and possibly more injuries? I'm a Celtic fan. From my perspective, 8 games against different teams instead of 6 against the same 3 teams is more exciting. Instead of realistically playing for 3rd spot to stay in Europe after Xmas in the Europa league, we are playing to make it to the 9-24 playoff knockout, giving us a better chance to make the last 16. Anything after that is just a bonus. This gives us 2 extra games we otherwise wouldn't have giving us more money to compete. Another bonus for us is that if we only make it to the Europa League, we don't have the 3rd place champions League teams drop down reducing our chances of progressing in the tournament. We would actually be playing in a tournament where we'd have a realistic chance of winning. I'd love to hear your thoughts ⚽

[@VeniVidiVici456]

@@kane2293 Hello. Thank you for your reply. I can ONLY speak for myself. There are two thoughts that come to mind: 1.) Reduced recovery time for players. More games = fewer recovery days. 2). The reduced time for recovery affects national team competition. Clubs are THE primary source of player income. However, the intensity in the Euros. this summer was greatly diminished because of this.

[@ToABrighterFuture]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I kind of enjoyed the relegations. It made the entire competition more holistic. Taking on a drop-down from the Champions League would, a priori, spice up the Playoff Round in the Europa League, and so on down the line. I worry that, since each competition is now its own walled garden, the Europa and Conference Leagues may end up with the same status as, say, Minor League Baseball, or the American Hockey League: locals and die-hards will care, but in-passing fans, less so.

[@MusicalTranscendence]

the relegations are now happening during qualifiers (more than before). it's good to protect the smaller competitions from the big fish from CL, who are already making $$$ even if they exit at the group stage.

[@AnthonyHughes694]

So to me at least it’s been done to bring in American audiences and made it the super league version 2

[@thomasfriesejr.9198]

The same-country thing isn't COLPLETELY gone. Teams can only play one team from their own league in the league phase.

[@andybarry5315]

Sounds alright

[@amenstal123]

IT'S GONNA TANK !

[@VeniVidiVici456]

A win for UEFA NOT for Fans!

[@HaroldinhoFC]

Do you still feel that way even though we get more big matches played?

[@VeniVidiVici456]

@@HaroldinhoFC Thank you for your response and question. Yes, my friend, I still feel this way. Why? Because, the big matches occur in the knock out stages. Knock out stage games are, by themselves, big games. For example, if a big team is eliminated in the group stage then that team, during that campaign, did NOT play well enough to reach the knockout stages are were, therefore, NOT big enough to advance. That is how I was taught to understand and read the game and how I played and coached the game. To me, I was taught to enjoy the group stage elimination process (a semi-knockout stage) and to enjoy the suspense of the knock outs.

[@adrian225]

@@HaroldinhoFC Absolutely. For one thing, it makes big matches much less special. Then, more games means either more injuries and more bench players playing and/or teams playing a less intense and (usually) more boring style of football in order to not tire their players too much. Additionally, watching too many games can lead to watching games becoming boring, not to mention forcing people who want to watch the games to take more time to watch them. Its already happening in international (national teams) football, where a lot of fans just can't be bothered to follow every new game and every new competition UEFA/FIFA come up with. A win for the fans would be less games, this way the best players could play in all of them or almost all of them, and less games leaves less room for teams to make mistakes, meaning all teams will try harder in all matches they play.

[@lewisstubbs6569]

Don’t fix something that isn’t broken. The group stage format was fine. This two extra games plus another two extra if you’re in the play off phase is just gonna contribute more to injuries. It’s all about money, not the fans at all.

[@miguel_7515]

That's stupid, some teams will be playing against easier teams while others will play against harder teams

[@antoniomacielgodoy1150]

Honestly don’t like it. Especially because there’s more of a chance for players to get injured…

[@MusicalTranscendence]

meh. they have 5 subs now since covid. these guys are earning hundreds of thousands of euro per week, i dont exactly feel sorry for them.

[@DanielYusuf-v3i]

Super League but in a different suite

[@Jae_TheFlash]

More injuries incoming ☹️

[@eriksaram2736]

In short just play fm 24

[@khaoyanelson4849]

The UCL should belong to the champions. FC Astana deserves a chance if it wins its respective league.

[@EstebanMataVargas]

That´s how it used to be and I liked it.

[@MusicalTranscendence]

in an ideal world, yes. and in the past, yes. in this world of unequal $$$, it's pointless to see the champions of, say, Latvia, play Man City.

[@BenNguyen2510]

More games more money going to fifa pockets and more people losing money . Just have to be smart in spork books lol

[@solianaberhe-j9g]

Terrible plan Cancel nation league too I love the old format

[@ezekielphiri2607]

No one is breaking Sevilla's record😂

[@bremer1701]

6:00 shit system. 9th should play 10th, 11th should play 12th and so on.

[@MusicalTranscendence]

no. if that were the case, teams would aim to finish 25th to play weaker opponents.

[@bremer1701]

@@MusicalTranscendence that wont happen. Its called swiss system and works perfectly fine. A system where the best plays against the weakest per default means a free pass for the best team. And even if happens what you describe, then other good teams would do the same and face of each other anyway. Swiss system is far superior.

[@MusicalTranscendence]

@@bremer1701 I disagree. You want a system that incentivizes teams trying to win at all costs. In your proposed system, as long as I make a minimum number of points to qualify, I will just play my reserves for the remainder of the group games. There is 0 incentive to place higher. It's not a good system, unless you want to see the big team reserves playing, not to mention that if you play a good team towards the end of the "group" system, you're more likely to beat them, as they would have already clinched qualification. It's not a good system. I understand that 1st vs last is possibly too difficult for the small teams. Fine. You can stil still somehow seed teams based on the rankings, with some randomness at play etc. What you DON'T want to do is to remove all the incentives to win games after a certain point.

[@brennan60100]

How are teams going to do all this and still fulfill their domestic competitions as well? They need robots, not humans, and there's the human injuries to contend with as well.

[@drefootybomar8792]

It's essentially the Super League. Too many games and takes away from domestic league play excitement.

[@captainfalconmain6576]

stuphid change

[@VeniVidiVici456]

Precisely correct!

[@angkikoswara6225]

More game more money more greedy more injured player for later nantional match

[@eavyeavy2864]

The rejection of Super League make uefa sures, that football fans do love Establishment, no matter how bad it is

[@WarzoneGhost017]

I think teams which came 1 and 2 should directly qualify for quater final this will also make sure those two teams won’t meet until final again

[@andybarry5315]

They need to give an incentive to those teams that finish top

[@anonymous-uc3vc]

nope . bad idea.

[@WarzoneGhost017]

@@anonymous-uc3vc why bro then teams like city madrid bayern won’t take serious any matches after they confirm position in top 8 but if top 2 position have advantage then teams will go all deep till end inorder to finish top 2

[@anonymous-uc3vc]

@@WarzoneGhost017 first of all money. real , barca and some other big clubs wanted to leave uefa and form super league because of less money. the new format is designed to give them 2 extra big matches. but you want top 2 teams to not even play 2 ro16 matches?? that's just pretty much evens out the money. so why do that ? secondly, this isn't a normal league standing . not every team will play each other . so being 1,2 here doesn't mean that those 2 teams has played better than 3-8 . but in a normal league standing being 1st means that that team has definitely played better than anyone else as in league every team plays each other.

[@peterwilliams6188]

What about increased carbon emissions due to extra travelling? We need to save the planet not make more money. Can the games be played on Zoom?

[@nikolasandbyrongames3535]

My team is cooked. It's olympiakos

[@HaroldinhoFC]

Congratulations on the conference league trophy last season!

[@jamiedoyle3147]

Plastic football for plastic fans

[@josephideh752]

Game is gone

[@iainmore3961]

I wont be watching. UEFA is so corrupt and greed of big teams is running rampant. Fans get screwed again.

[@senior_duck968]

Yep i definitely believe that you wont watch any games

[@shukriwafiq5220]

idiotic change