Starting from the 2024-25 season, the UEFA Champions League is undergoing a reform that will expand the contest to accommodate 36 teams, and the traditional group stage will now be replaced by a single league phase. The new arrangement provides for each team to play a total of eight matches against different opponents: four at home and four away, thereby improving the variety and competitiveness of the tournament.
Key Dates and Phases
- League Phase:
- Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024
- Matchday 2: 1–2 October 2024
- Matchday 3: 22–23 October 2024
- Matchday 4: 5–6 November 2024
- Matchday 5: 26–27 November 2024
- Matchday 6: 10–11 December 2024
- Matchday 7: 21–22 January 2025
- Matchday 8: 29 January 2025
At this stage, teams are playing for points to determine their standings. The best eight teams will go straight into the Round of 16, while those finishing 9th to 24th will be entering a two-legged play-off for spots in the knockout stage.
Knockout Phase Play-offs:
- First Legs: 11–12 February 2025
- Second Legs: 18–19 February 2025
Round of 16:
- First Legs: 4–5 March 2025
- Second Legs: 11–12 March 2025
Quarter-finals:
- First Legs: 8–9 April 2025
- Second Legs: 15–16 April 2025
Semi-finals:
- First Legs: 29–30 April 2025
- Second Legs: 6–7 May 2025
Final:
- 31 May 2025
- Venue: Munich Football Arena, Munich, Germany
A solitary match will be played at the Munich Football Arena as the final. It would be the first time since 2012 that Munich would play host to the Champions League final.
Major Fixtures
This league phase will surely feature some of the most anticipated encounters, like Paris Saint-Germain versus Liverpool, Real Madrid against Atlético de Madrid, and Bayern Munich meeting Bayer Leverkusen. This cluster of high-profile fixtures will take place between March and April 2025, thus paving the way for fierce battles as the teams fight for the coveted quarter-final spots.
For a complete breakdown of fixtures and periodic updates, the fans have to visit the official UEFA Champions League website.
Through all these changes, this time around, the new format aims at enhancing an exciting tournament unpredictably involving the most elite clubs in Europe in a new dynamic structure for the coveted title.
