The has already made its eagerly-awaited return for the 2024/25 season – but there will be a couple of noticeable changes to this year’s competition.
Qualification for the main draw is already underway, with Rangers and ’s Fenerbahce
However, when the tournament proper kicks off in September, there will be two key changes that fans will have to get used to.
The major change to this year’s competition is the move away from the traditional four-team group stage to a revamped Swiss-style league system.
The new system will see all 36 clubs now placed in one league table and play eight games rather than the traditional six to determine their progression to the knockout rounds.
Teams will be ranked in four seeded pots and will then be drawn against two opponents from each of these pots, playing eight different teams with four at home and four away.
At the end of the league format, the top eight will automatically qualify for the last-16, while those ranked ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged play-off for the chance to join them.
The other – and more subtle change – is to do with the iconic Champions League music that has accompanied the tournament since since its rebrand in 1992.
Viewers will be used to the classic anthem playing over television adverts and in stadiums before each match but UEFA officials have decided to tinker with the intro for this season.
That’s because they’ve chosen to return to theof the original track, a version not heard in 18 years since the 2005/06 season when Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1 to claim their second Champions League.
Real Madrid go into this season as the tournament’s defending champions after their
English hopes, meanwhile, will be spearheaded by Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa, with Unai Emery’s side competing in the competition for the first time since 1983.
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