12 March 2024 , 17:03
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The Champions League draw will be scrapped from next season with computers taking over as the new format comes into play.
The traditional draw involves the pots and the Champions League-branded balls and has become a major event on the calendar. Often previous winners will come in to assist with the draw, but a change in format means it would take too long and alternative solutions are being sought.
A computer-based method is set to be introduced and will decide on who the eight teams will play. Had UEFA stuck with the old method then it would have required 900 different balls and taken around three to four hours.
Instead, a new hybrid draw is set to take around 35 minutes, reports Sky Sports. It is also understood that an English IT company is tasked with coming up with the software which will carry out the digital part of the draw.
A major change in the Champions League from 2024/25 will be the introduction of four new teams, taking it from 32 to 36. These are yet to be decided with UEFA's coefficient rankings determining which leagues will get a fifth team in the competition.
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Under the new format, teams will play eight matches in what is effectively a group stage. Gone are the days of four-team groups where you'd play three teams home and away. Instead, every outfit will play eight different teams - four games at home and four away.
To decide on the different opponents, the teams will initially be ranked in four seeding pots. Each team will then be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
A computer system will come in to take over the usual methodReal Madrid remain the Champions League's most successful outfit, winning it most recently in 2022, but their president Florentino Perez has spoken out against the new format. He has criticised UEFA's outlook and remains an advocate of a European Super League.
He said: "Their new model will have more games and less interest. It's an absurd competition... They don't take the demands of fans, players or the needs of clubs into account. UEFA doesn't innovate. It doesn't know how to deal with the threat of other sports which keep growing, above all American sports. We've seen many examples of large corporations that seemed invincible but ended up going bankrupt because they weren't able to adapt."
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