On Tuesday, the league phase of the Champions League begins. This marks a new chapter in the “King’s Class”. The facts.
Legend:
Who will take home the ‘Henkelpot’?
The Champions League final will take place in Munich.
imago images/NurPhoto
The new Champions League season is just around the corner – and it ushers in a new chapter in European club football. “The new format for the 2024/25 season aims to provide the best possible package for clubs, players, and fans,” says UEFA regarding the changes. We provide the most important information about the competition.
The League Phase
The most significant innovation concerns the increase in teams and the elimination of the group phase. From now on, 36 teams instead of the previous 32 will compete for the ‘Henkelpot’. The format has been adjusted accordingly:
- The group phase with 6 matches per team is eliminated. Each team will now play 8 matches against different clubs in the so-called league phase.
- Each team plays four times at home and four times away. The league phase lasts until the end of January 2025.
- There will be an overall ranking table with all 36 teams.
The Knockout Phase
The best 8 teams qualify directly for the Round of 16. Teams ranked 9-16 will face a team from ranks 17-24 in the Playoffs. The matchups will be drawn after the league phase, with teams ranked 9-16 being seeded and enjoying home advantage in the second leg. Clubs ranked 25-36 are eliminated.
Starting from the Round of 16, the familiar format with home and away matches will apply. The away goals rule was abolished by UEFA a few years ago. The Final will take place on May 31 in Munich.
The Swiss Team
In the Super League, Young Boys are stuck at the bottom of the table, in the Cup the Bernese uneventfully advanced to the Round of 16, but on the European stage, the Swiss champions managed to pull off a coup against Galatasaray Istanbul and qualified for the Champions League – for the 4th time in the club’s history.
YB will face the following teams in the league phase:
- Home matches: Aston Villa (09/17) / Inter Milan (10/23) / Atalanta Bergamo (11/26) / Red Star Belgrade (01/29)
- Away matches: Barcelona (10/01) / Shakhtar Donetsk (11/06)* / VfB Stuttgart (12/11) / Celtic Glasgow (01/22)
* this match will take place in Gelsenkirchen
The Broadcasts on SRF
In the league and knockout phases, SRF will broadcast one match every Wednesday evening. The focus will be on the games of the Young Boys. If the Bernese are not playing on Wednesday, another match starting at 21:00 will be broadcast live.
In the program “Champions League – Highlights”, all matches with all goals will be compactly summarized each Tuesday and Wednesday from 23:00.