The UEFA Champions League has gone through multiple iterations since it began life as the European Cup in 1955. It enters a new era in 2024, as it debuts an expanded format designed to ensure that there's more at stake in every match. Here’s all you need to know about the new-look calendar.
- Number of Matches in the 2024-25 Champions League Season
- 2024-25 Champions League Season Dates
- 2024-25 Champions League League Phase
- 2024-25 Champions League Knockout Phase
- 2024-25 Champions League Teams
- Format Change
- 2025-26 Champions League Schedule
Number of Matches in the 2024-25 Champions League Season
Under the expanded new 36-team format, in which each club plays 8 matches in a “league phase” rather than the traditional group stage, there will be a total of 189 matches played in the Champions League proper in the 2024-25 season, up from 125. The number of games played prior to the knockout stage has increased from 96 to 144.
There will be 16 nations represented in the league phase:
- England (4 teams)
- Spain (4)
- Germany (5)
- Italy (5)
- France (4)
- Portugal (2)
- Netherlands (2)
- Austria (2)
- Croatia (1)
- Scotland (1)
- Serbia (1)
- Switzerland (1)
- Belgium (1)
- Ukraine (1)
- Czechia (1)
- Slovakia (1)
You can view the full UEFA Champions League schedule here.
2024-25 Champions League Season Dates
The 2024-25 UEFA Champions League competition proper runs from 17 September 2024 to 31 May 2025.
In recent years, the dates have been as follows:
- 2023-24 – 19 September 2023 to 1 June 2024
- 2022-23 – 6 September 2022 to 28 May 2023 (early start due to 2022 FIFA World Cup)
- 2021-22 – 14 September 2021 to 28 May 2022
- 2020-21 – 20 October 2020 to 29 May 2021 (season start delayed by COVID)
- 2019-20 – 17 September 2019 to 23 August 2020 (competition suspended from 15 March 2020 to 7 August)
2024-25 Champions League League Phase
The 2024-25 Champions League league phase (formerly the group stage) runs from 17 September 2024 to 29 January 2025.
During the league phase, all 36 teams are placed into a single table, with the standard system of 3 points being awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw, and none for a defeat. Each team plays 8 matches against 8 different opponents, 4 at home and 4 away. Ahead of the draw, the clubs are seeded into 4 pots; they face 2 opponents from each pot and cannot face opponents from their own association or more than 2 opponents from a different association.
At the conclusion of the league phase, the top 8 teams proceed directly to the round of 16, while those that finish between 9th and 24th contest the knockout round playoffs. Those that finish 25th and below do not advance or drop into the UEFA Europa League.
You can find the full Champions League league phase schedule here.
2024-25 Champions League Knockout Phase
The 2024-25 Champions League knockout phase runs from 11 February to 31 May 2025.
It begins with an additional round compared with the previous format – the knockout round playoffs. The playoffs are contested by the teams that finished between 9th and 24th in the league phase, with those that finished 9th and 16th being seeded and hosting the second leg at home. The playoff winners advance to the round of 16, where they’ll face the clubs that finished in the top 8 in the league phase, who will be seeded for the draw.
The draw is completely random from the quarterfinals onward. The dates for each knockout round are as follows:
- Knockout round playoffs – 11-12 & 18-19 February 2025
- Round of 16 – 4-5 & 11-12 March 2025
- Quarterfinals – 8-9 & 15-16 April 2025
- Semifinals – 29-30 April & 6-7 May 2025
- Final – 31 May 2025
As usual, knockout ties (aside from the final, which is a single game held at a neutral, pre-selected venue) are played over 2 legs, 1 at each team’s home ground. If the 2 teams are level at the end of 2nd leg, 30 minutes of extra-time will be played. If teams still can't be separated after extra-time, a penalty shoot-out will determine the winner. The away goals rules is not in effect; it was discontinued in the 2021-22 season.
You can find the full Champions League knockout phase schedule here.
2024-25 Champions League Teams
There are 36 teams in the Champions League proper in the 2024-25 campaign, up from 32 in the previous format.
Although many familiar faces return year on year, there can often be a fairly dramatic change in the lineup of qualified teams from season to season. The 2024-25 season sees Brest and Girona make their European football debuts, while Aston Villa are making their first appearance in this competition since the 1982-83 campaign, when it was still known as the European Cup; the Villans had lifted the trophy only the season before. Bologna and Slovan Bratislava are also making their first appearances in the Champions League since the group stage was introduced in 1992.
Real Madrid are the defending champions, having won for a record 15th time in 2023-24.
The 2024-25 lineup is as follows:
- AC Milan, San Siro
- Arsenal, Emirates Stadium
- AS Monaco, Stade Louis II
- Aston Villa, Villa Park
- Atalanta, Gewiss Stadium
- Atletico Madrid, Metropolitano Stadium
- Barcelona, Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium/ Camp Nou
- Bayer Leverkusen, BayArena
- Bayern Munich, Allianz Arena
- Benfica, Estadio da Luz
- Bologna, Stadio Renato Dall’Ara
- Borussia Dortmund, Signal Iduna Park
- Brest, Stade de Roudourou*
- Celtic, Celtic Park
- Club Brugge, Jan Breydel Stadium
- Crvena Zvezda, Rajko Mitic Stadium
- Dinamo Zagreb, Stadion Maksimir
- Feyenoord, De Kuip
- Girona, Estadi Montilivi
- Internazionale, San Siro
- Juventus, Allianz Stadium
- Lille, Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy
- Liverpool, Anfield
- Manchester City, Etihad Stadium
- Paris Saint-Germain, Parc des Princes
- PSV Eindhoven, Philips Stadion
- RB Leipzig, Red Bull Arena
- Red Bull Salzburg, Red Bull Arena
- Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabeu
- Slovan Bratislava, Tehelne Pole
- Shakhtar Donetsk, Veltins-Arena**
- Sparta Prague, Stadion Letna
- Sporting CP, Estadio Jose Alvalade
- Sturm Graz, Worthersee Stadion***
- Stuttgart, MHPArena
- Young Boys, Stadion Wankdorf
*Brest’s Stade Francis-Le Ble does not meet UEFA requirements to host Champions League matches
**Shakhtar are currently unable to fulfil European fixtures in Ukraine
***Sturm Graz’s Merkur-Arena does not meet UEFA requirements to host Champions League matches
Format Change
As discussed above, the Champions League has undergone a significant format change in 2024-25, one which considerably increases the number of matches played.
Rather than 32 teams split into 8 groups of 4, the new format is comprised of 36 teams in a single league table, with each club playing 8 matches rather than 6 (and against 8 different opponents rather than 3) in their bid to qualify for the knockout phase.
In the knockout phase itself, there is an additional round prior to the last 16, contested by the teams that finish 9th to 24th in the league phase.
The intention behind the change is to make every match matter more, since in theory even a single victory – such as on the final matchday – can dramatically change a team’s league position. The expanded format also allows more teams to enter the competition and provides a much greater variety of opponents than the old group stage.
2025-26 Champions League Schedule
The 2025-26 Champions League will continue to be held under the new format. The qualifying process for clubs who do not advance automatically to the league phase will likely begin in June 2025, with the draw for the league phase taking place at the end of August.