Why change such a successful competition?

Money, mostly, though that’s not the only reason.

The Champions League in Europe has for the past 32 years showcased the highest quality play in world football. It let UEFA steer billions of euros (dollars) of prize money to clubs who pay the highest transfer fees and salaries.

Still, influential officials at the European Club Association (ECA) got bored of the group stage, saying it was too repetitive and lacked drama. They wanted more games against stronger opponents that would be more valued by broadcasters, viewers, and new fans worldwide. Their leverage over UEFA was potentially launching their own breakaway competition.

The road to agreeing to the format was rocky. A controversial first proposal in 2019, favoring storied clubs, was stopped by a backlash from mid-ranked clubs and domestic leagues.

There was intense turmoil sparked by the failed Super League launch in April 2021 by most of the same club officials who negotiated Champions League reform with UEFA.

Final format approval came in May 2022 – when Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus were exiled from the talks and still pursued UEFA in court – and it was broadly what the rebel Super League clubs had negotiated.

What is the new format?

Out goes the group-stage format played for 21 seasons where 32 teams were put into eight groups of four teams from a seeded draw. The top two in each group advanced to the round of 16. Groups gave each team six games from September into December, playing each rival once at home and once away.

In comes a single-standings league – 36 teams each playing eight games against eight different opponents through January.

The top eight in the standings go direct to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into the knockout playoffs in February. The bottom 12 teams are eliminated.

In the playoffs, teams ranked Nos. 9-16 are seeded in the draw to play second legs at home against unseeded teams Nos. 17-24.