The fight for the biggest prize of European football begins this Tuesday, September 17. (More Football News)
The 2024-25 edition is the 70th season of Europe's elite club competition. It is the 33rd since it was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League. Also, this will be the first edition with a new format since 2003-04. The knockout rounds remain the same but the group stages have been switched for a league stage.
Keep reading if you want to know not just about the new format of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 but every important detail of the new season of the premier club competition in the world.
UEFA Champions League 2024-25 New Format Explained
The format of the tournament sees a major change from this season onwards. Instead of the usual eight groups of four with each team playing three matches home and three away, we now have a league stage as the first round of the Champions League.
Four more teams have been added to take the total number of teams competing to 36 from 32. Instead of getting divided into groups, these 36 teams will be in the same league with each team playing against eight teams. The draw took place earlier to decide who faces whom in the league stage.
After each team has played eight games, the top eight will move straight to the pre-quarterfinals. Teams finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the victors going through to the last 16, where they meet one of the top eight sides. After that normal knockout format will be followed.
UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Teams Participating
England: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atlético de Madrid
Germany: Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern, Leipzig
Italy: Inter, Milan, Juventus, Atalanta
France: Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest
Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
Portugal: Sporting CP
Belgium: Club Brugge
Scotland: Celtic
Austria: Sturm Graz
European Performance Spots: Bologna (ITA), Dortmund (GER)
Champions League winner rebalancing: Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
Europa League winner rebalancing: Benfica (POR)
Qualifiers: Crvena Zvezda (SRB), GNK Dinamo (CRO), Lille (FRA), Salzburg (AUT), Slovan Bratislava (SVK), Sparta Praha (CZE), Young Boys (SUI)
UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Full Schedule
Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024
Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024
Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024
Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024
Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024
Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024
Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025
Matchday 8: 29 January 2025
Knockout phase play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025
Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025
Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025
Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025
Check out the detailed schedule of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 HERE
UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Final Date
The final of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 takes place on May 31 2025 at the Allianz Arena in Germany's Munich.
UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Live Streaming
The UEFA Champions League 2024-25 will be aired on the Sony Sports Network on tv. The tournament can be live streamed on SonyLiv app and website.
