The Champions League is undergoing a significant transformation these days. Tonight, a state-of-the-art AI system will be utilized to aid in the most complex group stage draw in history. This is happening during the competition's most significant overhaul, which also includes a change to the tournament's iconic anthem. While the classic tune remains, it now has a distinctive sound.
Today's Champions League is recognizable yet vastly different from its past. As the draw for this year's premier event unfolds in Monaco (6 p.m.), spectators will notice a myriad of changes. Even the music that fills the air will be altered. The legendary "Zadok the Priest" anthem was given a thorough makeover. The updated composition features a new orchestra and a fresh take on the original lyrics, giving the anthem a whole new vibe and tone.
Tony Britten's composition "Tenebrae" takes center stage as the anthem's new star. The revamped choir echoes through the stadium with a smoother, more solemn, and less powerful feel. The traditional chant fans once sang along to is now teetering on the brink of obsolescence. The updated anthem now stands as a symbol of this league overhaul, a stark contrast to the competition's previous format, which featured Dortmund's thrilling run to the final.
The Champions League has seen its most substantial overhaul since its inception in 1992-1993. The traditional group stage has been abolished in favor of a single league consisting of 36 teams. After eight games, the top eight clubs will advance to the knockout stage, while the remaining 24 teams will compete in a kind of playoff to secure the remaining eight berths. Five German teams - Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, and Dortmund - are set to kick off the inaugural season of the revamped Champions League.
The financial commitment for clubs will increase from 15.64 million euros to 18.62 million euros, with an additional 2.1 million euros per win (previously 2.8 million euros). The placement fee ranges from 275,000 euros for the 36th position in the league phase to 10 million euros for the first-placed team. In the best-case scenario, UEFA distributes over 112 million euros to a single participant, a significant increase from the 85 million euros available in the previous season.
European soccer's central governing body will distribute an impressive 853 million euros from the new market pool. The remaining two pillars - starting fees and bonuses - are equally impressive, totaling 670 million euros and 914 million euros, respectively. UEFA's CFO is likely to celebrate, while the sporting directors of participating teams can now focus on strategizing to build competitive sides.
Let's explore the new changes in the Champions League.
How does the draw work? Gone are the days of sectioning teams into eight groups of four. Now, the 36 teams will participate in a single league, playing eight games against eight different opponents - four home, four away. Each team faces two opponents from each of the four pots, ensuring that there will be matches between top teams in the group stage.
The 36 teams are divided into four pots based on their UEFA coefficient. Bayern Munich, Dortmund, and Leipzig earn their place in Pot 1. Leonardo Bayer slips into Pot 2, while Stuttgart returns to the Champions League in Pot 4. Although the selection in Pot 1 appears privileged, each team faces opponents from each pot, ensuring a mix of matches in the group stage.
Matches between teams from the same country are still forbidden. Given that three German teams are in Pot 1, it's obvious that German teams will face two teams from the allocated six - Madrid, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter Milan, and Barcelona.
- Pot 1: Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona
- Pot 2: Leonardo Bayer, Madrid, Atalanta Bergamo, Juventus Torino, Benfica Lisbon, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan
- Pot 3: Feyenoord Rotterdam, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Zagreb, FC Salzburg, Lille OSC, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys Bern, Celtic Glasgow
- Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava, AS Monaco, Sparta Prague, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Stade Brest
The unique aspect of the draw: Artificial Intelligence steers the draw process. Considering all possibilities with 1000 balls would take hours, making the draw excessively lengthy. A software developed by a London-based company will expedite the process by roughly 35 minutes. The method is straightforward: clubs are drawn by hand, and the AI supercomputer selects the remaining opponents at random, assigning home and away matches for the drawn team.
Potential opponents for the five German teams could look like this:
- Bayern Munich: Man City (away), Paris (home), Atletico (away), Atalanta (home), Feyenoord (away), Young Boys (home), Bratislava (away), Monaco (home)
- Borussia Dortmund: Real (home), Liverpool (away), Milan (away), Bruges (home), Lille (away), Salzburg (home), Girona (away), Prague (home)
- RB Leipzig: Inter (away), Barcelona (home), Arsenal (away), Juventus (home), Celtic (away), Red Star (home), Graz (home), Brest (away)
- Bayer Leverkusen: Atletico (home), Atalanta (away), PSG (away), Real (home), Feyenoord (home), Young Boys (away), Aston Villa (home), Bologna (away)
- VfB Stuttgart: Bratislava (home), Monaco (away), Inter (away), Barcelona (home), Milan (away), Bruges (home), Lille (away), Eindhoven (home)
The subsequent phase: After the group stage, the 36 teams will participate in a single table comprising all teams. Teams accounting for 1 to 8 following eight matchdays will advance directly to the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Teams ranking 9 to 24 will qualify for the new knockout round playoffs. Teams ranking 25 to 36 will be eliminated.
Teams ranking 9 to 24 will decide the remaining Round of 16 participants through eight home and away matches. The victors will then engage in the traditional knockout system from the Round of 16 onwards, leading up to the final in Munich. This year, teams will not be redrawn for each round but will participate in a tournament bracket based on their league phase rankings, similar to tennis or darts.
Game schedule: Due to eight group stage matchdays instead of six, additional match dates are required. Previously, the group stage concluded in December; however, the new league system extends into January. Matches will be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 18:45 and 21:00. Exceptions include a few matches on the first matchday, which will be played on a Thursday due to the Europa League and Conference League pausing, and all 18 matches on the last matchday, which will be played simultaneously. The schedulers at DAZN are likely thrilled with this modification. DAZN and Amazon Prime will continue to broadcast the Champions League in Germany, with only the final being shown on ZDF.
- 1st Matchday: 17/18/19 September 2024
- 2nd Matchday: 1/2 October 2024
- 3rd Matchday: 22/23 October 2024
- 4th Matchday: 5/6 November 2024
- 5th Matchday: 26/27 November 2024
- 6th Matchday: 10/11 December 2024
- 7th Matchday: 21/22 January 2025
- 8th Matchday: 29 January 2025
- Knockout Round Playoffs: 11/12 and 18/19 February 2025
- Round of 16: 4/5 and 11/12 March 2025
- Quarterfinals: 8/9 and 15/16 April 2025
- Semifinals: 29/30 April and 6/7 May 2025
- Final: 31 May 2025 in Munich
How will the Europa League and Conference League function? The format remains largely the same. The Europa League, with German teams Frankfurt and Hoffenheim, follows a similar process as the Champions League. The Conference League, however, maintains only six group stage matches. The 36 teams will be divided into six pots of six teams each. If 1. FC Heidenheim qualifies for the group stage by winning tonight's playoff against BK Häckan, they will be in Pot 2 and will be drawn against one team from each pot, playing three home games and three away games.
Will relegation to the Europa League and Conference League occur again? No, teams that are eliminated no longer have to compete in either the Europa League or the Conference League.
Who will emerge victorious in the Champions League? Even the AI-driven supercomputer can't predict that.
In the revamped Champions League format, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are positioned in Pot 1, indicating their high UEFA coefficients.
The new AI-driven computer aims to expedite the group stage draw in a record 35 minutes, assisting in the intricate process that would take several hours manually.
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Enrichment Details: The AI-driven computer is responsible for group stage draw in UEFA Champions League 2024/25 using the following methods:
- Seeding Pots: The 36 participating teams are divided into four seeding pots based on their performance and ranking. This process is conducted using AI to ensure a fair and balanced distribution of matchups.
- Opponent Selection: Each team will confront two opponents from each of the four seeding pots. This format is designed to provide more exciting and competitive matches earlier in the competition, allowing the teams to test themselves against a broader range of opponents.
Source(s): [1] rebracket.com [1] epicenter.news [1] UEFA.com
