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Introducing the new UEFA Champions League format
euronews (in English)
Follow
12/09/2024
Europe’s premier club competition is back, with more teams and a refreshed draw process.
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News
Transcript
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00:00
We are days away from the start of Europe's premier football club competition.
00:05
The UEFA Champions League returns with a new look this season.
00:09
Will the reformatting of the tournament create fresh chaos?
00:13
Or will it be business as usual for the top teams in European football?
00:21
Hello and welcome to Football Now.
00:24
The return of the Champions League is almost upon us.
00:28
Yes, Europe's elite club competition is back for its 70th edition
00:32
and there are some major changes for 2024.
00:35
Real Madrid are the reigning champions but their path back to the final
00:39
is now a lot longer if they are going to defend their crown.
00:43
Let's take a deep dive into how the changes are reshaping the Continental tournament.
00:48
The traditional group stage has been replaced by a new league phase,
00:52
known as the Swiss system,
00:54
raising the total number of teams from 32 to 36.
00:58
Each side will now play eight league fixtures between September and January.
01:03
These games will consist of eight different opponents,
01:06
a mix of European heavyweights and more winnable fixtures.
01:10
The top eight teams then move out of the qualifying phase
01:13
and automatically qualify for the round of 16.
01:16
Clubs ranked from 9th to 24th will enter a playoff round,
01:19
battling it out for the remaining places in the knockout stages.
01:23
The bottom 12 teams in the league will crash out of European competition entirely.
01:53
It's also important that the teams that don't qualify
01:58
don't go to the Europa League like they used to.
02:03
I think we're all looking forward to it.
02:05
It's something new.
02:07
It doesn't excite the players so much
02:09
because they've complained that there are a lot of games.
02:15
But I think the spectators will like it.
02:18
There will be big games and we'll see what happens.
02:21
But I think it's going to be pretty cool.
02:24
Now, the draw for the league phase was completed back in August.
02:28
Some might say that with the old format,
02:30
the odds of getting easier opponents was weighted in favour of the bigger teams.
02:35
But now the draw is a completely level playing field.
02:38
So will that give the so-called weaker teams
02:41
a better opportunity of qualifying for the later stages?
02:45
110% is equal playing field. It's a league table.
02:48
I think the smaller teams are going to come in and be right up for it.
02:51
Eight matches, half home, half away, very fair.
02:55
You're going to go against Roma, you're going to go, why not?
02:58
I 100% think that the top teams, some will get knocked out in this format.
03:04
So for me, I definitely think this alludes to more entertainment,
03:07
more clubs having a chance of touching that silverware,
03:09
which is what we want as much as we love the Galacticos
03:12
and we love the big teams coming through.
03:14
I think there's a few success stories that will surprise us along the way.
03:18
While some teams have had the luck of the draw,
03:20
Paris Saint-Germain are certainly one club who haven't.
03:23
They'll be coming up against heavyweights such as Manchester City, Arsenal
03:27
and Atletico Madrid at the start of the campaign.
03:31
It's not good news for the French side,
03:33
who are looking to win their first ever European Cup this season.
03:37
They've come close on plenty of occasions before,
03:39
but what is it about the Champions League and PSG that just doesn't seem to click?
03:45
I think clubs like Real Madrid and AC Milan also have a history
03:50
and have had to fight to get that trophy.
03:53
PSG is on that path as well.
03:55
It just takes time and everything has to be done so that they can go all the way.
04:01
There's a whole system to put in place so that PSG can win.
04:05
It's true that France may have a harder time getting that trophy
04:10
because there's less competition,
04:13
but PSG has to believe in their chances to go all the way.
04:18
That's what's going to bring back that historic feeling.
04:23
One team happy to be back on the continental stage is Aston Villa.
04:27
They won the trophy way back in 1982,
04:30
but haven't featured in the competition for over 40 years.
04:34
To put things into perspective, the side from Birmingham, England,
04:38
weren't even in the Premier League five years ago,
04:40
but now under manager Unai Emery are preparing to face some past winners
04:45
such as Juventus and Bayern Munich in the league phase.
04:49
It's just magic. They play good football.
04:52
They play potent football.
04:54
This is the most enjoyable thing about Villa.
04:56
It's not even the success, it's not getting into the Champions League.
04:59
It's every game I look forward to watching.
05:02
Every game I believe Villa could win.
05:04
They've got Bayern Munich, they've got Juventus.
05:06
It's a whole other ballgame.
05:08
Once Villa are in the Champions League,
05:10
that sort of thing in you starts to dread.
05:13
We're going to get Real Madrid, we're going to have the toughest group,
05:15
it's going to be a disaster.
05:17
But then I look to some of the other teams.
05:18
Villa were in Pot 4, and I look to some of the other clubs.
05:21
They have equally as tough draws,
05:23
and I feel like Villa have actually been forcing it a little bit
05:26
in that it's Bayern and it's Juventus,
05:28
two teams that are obviously at a much higher footing than Aston Villa,
05:31
but they've got them both at home.
05:33
I would fancy taking a stab at them,
05:36
and I feel like the rest of the games are genuinely winnable,
05:39
which is all you really want really, put yourself in with a chance.
05:42
It's set to be another exciting season across Europe
05:45
as the new-look Champions League gets underway.
05:48
Let us know if you think the new format will be a success
05:51
using the hashtag footballnowchampionsleague.
05:54
That's all we've got time for from our studio here in Doha.
05:57
We'll see you next time. Bye for now.
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