UEFA’s New League Format: What Punters Need to Know

With the international break approaching, let’s focus on the new UEFA League formats for the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. These changes, starting in 2025, will bring new dynamics to the competitions and impact your online soccer betting strategies.

Key Changes to the UEFA League Format

1. No Group Stages: All three competitions will now use a round-robin format.
2. Round of 16 Qualification: The top 8 teams automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while teams finishing 9th to 24th enter a playoff round to secure the remaining spots.
3. Increased Teams: The number of teams in each competition has increased from 32 to 36.
4. More Fixtures: The soccer calendar will feature additional matchdays.
5. New Match Days: UEFA has adjusted the weekly match schedules.

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No More Group Stages in the New UEFA League Format

Previously, each competition had 8 groups of 4 teams playing home and away. Now, in the new format, a single league of 36 teams will play 8 matches against different opponents.

How Are the 8 Matches Decided?

The 8 matches each team plays will be based on a seeding system. Teams will be placed in four pots based on their UEFA ranking, and each team will face two opponents from each pot, playing one match at home and one away.
This system ensures that teams play a range of opponents from different levels, which provides more variety in matchups throughout the season.

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Qualification for Each Competition

To qualify for the UEFA Champions League, a team must either:

• Finish in a top position in their domestic league.
• Win the UEFA Champions League or Europa League the previous season.

For the Champions League, teams that finish 1st to 4th in their domestic leagues qualify. For the Europa League, teams finishing 5th or 6th qualify. For the Conference League, teams finishing 7th or 8th qualify.

For example, Aston Villa’s participation in the Champions League is possible because they finished 4th in the English Premier League (EPL).

How the New Format Works

• Each competition features a 36-team league, and each team plays 8 matches.
• Points are awarded: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss.
• The top 8 teams automatically advance to the Round of 16.
• Teams finishing 9th to 24th enter a two-legged knockout playoff, with the winners joining the top 8 in the Round of 16.
• Teams finishing 25th or lower are eliminated.

In the knockout phase, teams ranked 9th to 16th will be seeded and face teams ranked 17th to 24th. The seeded teams play the second leg at home.

Updated Match Schedule

• UEFA Champions League matches will be held from September to January.
• Europa League and Conference League matches will take place from September to December.
• Champions League matches are played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with Europa and Conference League matches on Thursdays.
• During exclusive match weeks, Champions League matches will also take place on Thursdays, while Europa League matches will be played on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Conclusion

The changes to the UEFA competitions for 2025 bring more fixtures, an expanded number of teams, and a new match schedule. These updates present more soccer betting opportunities, especially with the elimination of group stages and the introduction of the knockout playoff phase.

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[Written by: Coach Kiev (Kieffer) Esterhuizen]