UEFA has approved new forms for the Europa League and Conference League, its premier club competitions, as Aston Villa aims to qualify for the Champions League this season.
The departure from the group stage system of the present format is a key shift in the revisions approved by the UEFA Executive Committee. The modifications will take effect in 2024–2025. There are 32 players in the current Champions League group stage, split into 8 groups of 4.
However, starting with the upcoming season, 36 clubs will be allowed to compete in the Champions League league phase (formerly known as the group stage), providing four additional teams with the chance to face the top clubs in Europe. All 36 of the competing clubs will be ranked together and take part in a single league competition.
Instead of playing six games in the groups, teams will now play eight in the new league phase. They will now play matches against eight different teams, half of which they will play at home and the other half away, as opposed to their previous schedule of three opponents twice, home and away.
The teams will be seeded into four pots based on initial rankings in order to choose the eight opponents. After then, a team will be picked to face two opponents from each of these pots, once at home and once away, in a single matchup.
In the new league, points will still be awarded for wins and draws, with the outcomes of each game determining the final standings. The teams placing ninth through twenty-four will play a two-leg knockout phase play-off to guarantee their spot in the competition’s round of sixteen, while the top eight clubs in the league will automatically advance to the round of sixteen. Teams that place 25th or lower are going to be eliminated.
The teams who placed ninth through sixteenth will be seeded in the knockout phase play-off draw, which means they will play a team ranked seventeenth through twenty-fourth, with the return leg likely to take place at home. The eight teams who win the knockout phase play-offs advance to the round of 16, where they will square off against one of the eight top finishers, who will receive a seed.
The competition will proceed with its current structure, which consists of knockout stages leading to a final held at a neutral location chosen by UEFA, starting with the round of 16. The final will still take place in midweek, but all of the games leading up to it will still be played in
The UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League, which will be renamed the UEFA Conference League as of 2024–2025, will also undergo similar format changes. Both competitions will have 36 teams participating in the league phase, with eight matches and eight different opponents in the league phase.
