Grapevine

Bigger, better? Draw marks start of new era in Champions League

Real Madrid players and coach celebrate after winning the 2024 Champions Legaue.[AFP]

A new era in European club football begins on Thursday when the draw takes place in Monaco for an expanded Uefa Champions League featuring a radically changed format.

European football’s governing body is selling what it describes as “a thrilling new future” for the game on the continent with more teams playing more matches, and more prize money on offer.

Uefa needs to generate hype around the new format, because there is a risk -- in the beginning at least -- that fans will find it confusing compared to the old model.

For the last 21 years, the Champions League had consisted of a group stage in which 32 clubs were split into eight groups of four, each playing six games. The top two in each group qualified for the knockout phase.