What is the new Champions League format for next season? Europe’s elite competition set for major changes

This year’s Champions League campaign will be the final one as we know it, with the competition set for a major revamp next season. 

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin announced earlier this year that the competition will undergo some drastic changes from 2024/25.

More teams than ever will be taking part in Europe’s elite tournament with a whole new format to be introduced. 

talkSPORT.com runs you through the upcoming changes to the Champions League. 

From the start of the 2024/25 season, there will be a number of major changes to the Champions League format. 

The biggest of those is that the traditional group stage is being scrapped. 

Instead of the usual 32 teams, 36 will be competing and they will take part in a single league phase that includes all sides. 

Each team will be guaranteed to play eight matches, with four being at home and four away. 

And every game will take place over a designated 10-week period. 

This means there will be an increase in games as 189 matches will be played rather than the 125 that has usually taken place. 

During the league phase, the top eight sides will automatically qualify for the knockout stage.

Meanwhile, those finishing from ninth to 24th in the league, will compete in a play-off consisting of two legs to decide who reaches the last 16. 

Due to there being four extra teams competing in the Champions League from the 2024/25 campaign onwards, the Premier League could have a fifth side able to qualify. 

UEFA announced that two of the four new slots will be given to the nations that achieve the best collective performance in Europe during the previous season. 

This is worked out by dividing the number of points earned by the number of sides competing in European competitions. 

If these rules existed