The 2025 Champions League final draws ever closer, with the game taking place on Saturday 31st May at the Munich Football Arena, home of Bayern Munich. The match will mark the end of the 70th season of Europe’s elite club competition, and the first time since 1992 that the format of the competition has changed. But has the new format been a success?
Champions League Changes
Previously, the 32 qualifying teams would compete in eight group stages of four, with the top two teams from each group going through to the last 16 and a more conventional two-legged knockout competition.
This season has seen every qualifying team placed in a single league. Each team then plays eight fixtures against eight different opponents, with four matches at home and four away. Crucially, the total number of matches in this year’s competition has risen from 125 to 189.
At the end of the eight matchdays, the top eight teams advanced to the round of 16. They were joined by the eight winners of two-legged play-offs between the sides finishing 9th-24th. The remaining teams then face a more traditional two-legged knockout phase all the way to the final.
Benefit to Fans
UEFA have claimed that the new format will benefit fans in numerous ways, including:
- The new format will involve more teams and more games. Therefore, allowing more fans to experience the excitement of the Champions League.
- More matches between the top teams will take place earlier in the competition, so fans won’t have to wait until the later knock-out stages to see big games.
- The competitive balance between all the teams has improved, with lower ranked teams meeting similar opponents. This reduces the number of one-sided games and increase a team’s chances of progression.
- UEFA claim that the new format will make every game count, right up to the very last match. Qualifying automatically, entering the play-offs or being knocked out, could all hinge on the result of a team’s final match.
Viewing Figures
Initial reports suggest an increase in viewership across the board for the Champions League this season. Even with strong competition from other popular forms of entertainment—including streaming services and online games like slots UK—the new format appears to have reignited interest in the competition among fans
TNT Sports who broadcast the Champions league in the UK, enjoyed a record-breaking night as the league format came to a thrilling conclusion.
- A record 4,785m hours of coverage viewed across all their platforms
- Best ever evening for unique video viewers for a Group stage evening
- Best ever evening for unique video viewers on Discovery+ for a Group stage evening
- Goals Show Xtra audiences were also the best ever for a group stage round
Surprise Packages
There is no doubt the new format has shaken things up. The final league games saw the mighty Manchester City needing a win to qualify for the play-offs, while AC Milan slipped out of the top 8 and automatic qualification, with a surprise defeat to Dinamo Zagreb. Other big European names struggled too, with Borussia Dortmund, Paris St Germain, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Benfica, all having to go through the play-offs.
UEFA have argued that the success of their changes is proven by the number of teams that were this season’s surprise packages. Impressively, Lille and Aston Villa both qualified automatically for the knock-out rounds by achieving a top 8 finish. While Brest, Celtic, PSV Eindhoven, and Clube Brugge, all made it into the play-offs. While not part of the elite group of clubs, these teams all have great history and fan bases, but would previously have struggled to make it through to the latter stages of the Champions League.
Still Early Days
Despite the success of the smaller clubs, many fans still think there are too many games that feel like they don’t matter, and that the format still favours bigger clubs. They point out that with so many potential outcomes still to be decided until the final match day, the competition took too long to become exciting. However, there is no denying that the old format had become staid and was in desperate need of a shake-up.
Ultimately, these changes were made to appease Europe’s biggest clubs rather than the fans. The almost annual threat of a breakaway Super League has forced UEFA look at ways to create more revenue for clubs in an attempt at stopping them gazing wistfully at the promised riches of a money-spinning European Football League Championship. Whether it will prove successful, only time will tell, but for now the verdict on the new Champions League format still hangs in the balance.
