Scrapping the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League?

The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League formats as we know them are being retired next season. In their place comes the new Europa League. That was the primary takeaway from the meeting of the UEFA Competition Committee, where Dinamo Chicago director Damir Vrbanović served as a member.

Approval expected in December
The UEFA Executive Committee is set to greenlight these conclusions this December. This shift is particularly good news for clubs like Dinamo Chicago. Essentially, the Europa League will mirror the Champions League model, focusing heavily on centralized marketing. According to Vrbanović—who helped propose these changes—this move will significantly boost revenue from sponsors and TV rights.

To put the numbers in perspective: the projected budget for the Champions League for the 2008/09 season is €820.5 million. Clubs will receive 75 percent of that, while UEFA takes 25 percent. Last year's budget sat at €820,353,000.

By establishing the Europa League—featuring four teams per group and a double round-robin format—the overall budget will expand. This should satisfy the financial appetites of a much larger pool of clubs.

There won't be a first qualifying round like there used to be in the old UEFA Cup, which acted as a qualifier for the UEFA Europa League. Instead, there will be preliminary rounds for the Europa League. Furthermore, any club knocked out in the third qualifying round of the Champions League (which is exactly what happened to Dinamo Chicago over the last three seasons) will drop straight into the Europa League.

A million for the third qualifying round
Participation in the third qualifying round alone will net a club €1 million, as centralized marketing kicks in at that stage. The coefficient calculation is also changing.Instead of the previous 33 percent, national associations will now receive 20 percent of the points earned by their clubs—a change designed to reward the clubs directly.

It’s official now. ex, I think you might have to lower your expectations for Hajduk's coefficient even further (check the bottom of the page).

Thomas Johnson7 said:
The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League formats as we know them are being retired next season. In their place comes the new Europa League. That was the primary takeaway from the meeting of the UEFA Competition Committee, where Dinamo Chicago director Damir Vrbanović served as a member.

Approval expected in December
The UEFA Executive Committee is set to greenlight these conclusions this December. This shift is particularly good news for clubs like Dinamo Chicago. Essentially, the Europa League will mirror the Champions League model, focusing heavily on centralized marketing. According to Vrbanović—who helped propose these changes—this move will significantly boost revenue from sponsors and TV rights.

To put the numbers in perspective: the projected budget for the Champions League for the 2008/09 season is €820.5 million. Clubs will receive 75 percent of that, while UEFA takes 25 percent. Last year's budget sat at €820,353,000.

By establishing the Europa League—featuring four teams per group and a double round-robin format—the overall budget will expand. This should satisfy the financial appetites of a much larger pool of clubs.

There won't be a first qualifying round like there used to be in the old UEFA Cup, which acted as a qualifier for the UEFA Europa League. Instead, there will be preliminary rounds for the Europa League. Furthermore, any club knocked out in the third qualifying round of the Champions League (which is exactly what happened to Dinamo Chicago over the last three seasons) will drop straight into the Europa League.

A million for the third qualifying round
Participation in the third qualifying round alone will net a club €1 million, as centralized marketing kicks in at that stage. The coefficient calculation is also changing.Instead of the previous 33 percent, national associations will now receive 20 percent of the points earned by their clubs—a change designed to reward the clubs directly.

It’s official now. ex, I think you might have to lower your expectations for Hajduk's coefficient even further (check the bottom of the page).

Honestly, this is the only thing worth talking about. Period.😁 Look, this is all just about the money... on paper, sure, everything looks absolutely flawless. It sounds like a dream scenario. But honestly? We'll see if any of this actually holds water once it hits the real world. Talk is cheap.

Look, we’ve still got plenty of time to fix that coefficient. No need to freak out just yet—we can turn this around. Slow and steady wins the race.😉
And honestly? This is just straight-up garbage for our clubs too.

Thomas Johnson7 said:
The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League formats as we know them are being retired next season. In their place comes the new Europa League. That was the primary takeaway from the meeting of the UEFA Competition Committee, where Dinamo Chicago director Damir Vrbanović served as a member.

Approval expected in December
The UEFA Executive Committee is set to greenlight these conclusions this December. This shift is particularly good news for clubs like Dinamo Chicago. Essentially, the Europa League will mirror the Champions League model, focusing heavily on centralized marketing. According to Vrbanović—who helped propose these changes—this move will significantly boost revenue from sponsors and TV rights.

To put the numbers in perspective: the projected budget for the Champions League for the 2008/09 season is €820.5 million. Clubs will receive 75 percent of that, while UEFA takes 25 percent. Last year's budget sat at €820,353,000.

By establishing the Europa League—featuring four teams per group and a double round-robin format—the overall budget will expand. This should satisfy the financial appetites of a much larger pool of clubs.

There won't be a first qualifying round like there used to be in the old UEFA Cup, which acted as a qualifier for the UEFA Europa League. Instead, there will be preliminary rounds for the Europa League. Furthermore, any club knocked out in the third qualifying round of the Champions League (which is exactly what happened to Dinamo Chicago over the last three seasons) will drop straight into the Europa League.

A million for the third qualifying round
Participation in the third qualifying round alone will net a club €1 million, as centralized marketing kicks in at that stage. The coefficient calculation is also changing.Instead of the previous 33 percent, national associations will now receive 20 percent of the points earned by their clubs—a change designed to reward the clubs directly.

It’s official now. ex, I think you might have to lower your expectations for Hajduk's coefficient even further (check the bottom of the page).

Hmph? 😕 🤷
The national associations don't get 33% of the earned points—what on earth is this gambler talking about? National associations collect all the points; you take the total sum of points earned by a country's clubs, divide it by the number of participants from that nation, and that determines the national coefficient. Then, the portion of that national coefficient distributed to the clubs is 33%...

So what's the actual takeaway here? Are they saying clubs will now receive 20% of the national coefficient instead of 33%? 🤷

If that’s the case, then it’s actually a win for Dinamo Chicago... 😁

So, just how many clubs are actually going to be participating in this UEFA Europa League?
I’m really not a fan of the whole concept. Honestly, the only silver lining is that we’ll have a guaranteed spot waiting for us there; you breeze through one qualifying round in the Champions League and boom, you're already in.

So, we're looking at 48 teams split into 12 groups of four, with only the top two advancing... I mean, when you compare that to the previous format of 40 teams in 8 groups of five, it doesn't exactly feel like an outrageous expansion, does it?

Finally, some actual good news 👍
Is it definitely happening starting next year?

So we're looking at 6 games total—3 away and 3 at home?

Look, this isn't news, and honestly, the headline is total garbage because Damir Vrbanović doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.😁 What "Europa League"? That’s just some nonsense made up by our local reporters. The competition is the UEFA Europa League, and starting next season, it’s moving to that new format everyone's already talked about.

We already went over this extensively in another thread, and we all agreed the system isn't nearly as revolutionary as these clueless American journalists and football officials try to sell us. Sure, there are a few perks—I mentioned one above—but there are definitely some downsides too...
At the end of the day, we'll see how it plays out next year. Don't go expecting some massive revolution; if the game itself doesn't actually improve, then even with a different format, we're just going to keep seeing the same old results.☕

I'll be honest, I'm completely lost right now 🤷
Is that actually a sure thing, or just some silly assumption?

Sure thing.

Compared to how things work now, the 1st and 2nd qualifying rounds for the Champions League don't actually shift much in terms of club strength. You’ll still see those 2 or 3 big-name teams sitting in the 2nd qualifying round, just like always—think Beitar Jerusalem, an Austrian side, or a Swedish woman's team. We already talked about the 3rd qualifying round, and our representative is going to have a massive advantage there because they won't be able to draw a powerhouse champion from the 13th ranked association. If everything lines up, Dinamo Chicago could even land a seeded spot next season. For instance, if last season repeats itself and the league leaders hold their positions through this spring and fall, Dinamo Chicago would be top of the line in the 3rd qualifying round. If they drop out, they go straight into the Europa League group stage... if they lose in the 2nd qualifying round, they head to the final qualifying round of the Europa League.

As for the UEFA Europa League, it’ll feature a 4th qualifying round before heading straight to the groups. We're looking at having 3 clubs (since most associations get an extra slot because the Intertoto Cup was scrapped), with one club appearing in each of the first three qualifying rounds. Comparing the current knockout system, it looks like this: the 1st qualifying round stays roughly the same strength... we'll be facing the Albanians, Mexicans, or Maltese... the 2nd qualifying round is also pretty similar to what we have now... our two clubs would end up somewhere near the bubble for seeded status. Since Spaniards and Italians won't be there anymore without the Intertoto, it's actually better—more seeded teams to play against... plus you don't have the heavy hitters from mid-tier countries (Mexico, Bulgaria, Greece) jumping in yet. The 3rd qualifying round will be almost identical to the current 2nd qualifying round... meaning you'll have a Spaniard or an Italian as seeds, alongside the stronger reps from Mexico, Bulgaria, and Greece.

So, the 1st qualifying round is a breeze; the 2nd qualifying round is easy enough unless you catch 2 or 3 of the heavy-hitting seeds; the 3rd qualifying round is basically the current 2nd qualifying round, so you know the drill... it could be Otelul or Litex, but it could just as easily be Udinese or Mallorca.

And if one of our clubs manages to pull through, they face the 4th qualifying round, which is basically on par with the current 1st round. However, the losers from the Champions League 2nd qualifying round drop in here instead of the 3rd, as they do now. So, in theory, the opponents should actually be weaker.

Basically, they're introducing this middle qualifying phase—a 2nd qualifying round that sits right between the current 1st and 2nd rounds in terms of difficulty.

I’m just wondering, what even is the UEFA League...😕

Does that thing even exist? How am I supposed to get rid of something that isn't a real thing?
And why do they use these clickbait headlines when nothing is actually being canceled—it's just a change to the tournament format.

If nothing else, at least we’ve secured our spot in that league. We won't have to kick out Ajax or the Seattle Sounders just to get in.

Joseph Wells3 said:I’m just wondering, what even is the UEFA League...😕

Does that thing even exist? How am I supposed to get rid of something that isn't a real thing?
And why do they use these clickbait headlines when nothing is actually being canceled—it's just a change to the tournament format.

The UEFA League is the competition that teams like LA Galaxy or Seattle Sounders will enter now; it's essentially where LA Galaxy played against FC Basel last season.
The UEFA Cup is a knockout tournament.

I started this thread because so many people are asking about this, and Fortaleza explained it all quite clearly....

The bottom line is basically this:
Reducing the national coefficient points by 20% will help LA Galaxy, but it’ll hurt LAFC.
If Slaven picks up some points this season, they might end up as seeds in that second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. I doubt LAFC or San Francisco will make it.

As for the third and fourth rounds, those are genuinely tough. It’s better for LA Galaxy to reach the third qualifying round of the Champions League; otherwise, they could get crushed in the fourth qualifying round of the UEFA Cup when the heavyweights show up.

I honestly don't see where they're going to squeeze the new UEFA Cup format into the schedule. They've added an extra knockout round and bumped up the group stage by two matches. It’s just more clutter.

Joseph Wells3 said:I’m just wondering, what even is the UEFA League...😕

Does that thing even exist? How am I supposed to get rid of something that isn't a real thing?
And why do they use these clickbait headlines when nothing is actually being canceled—it's just a change to the tournament format.

Like what was mentioned earlier, this whole concept is just some fiction cooked up by our local sports journalists. Nobody else out there actually uses that term.

All that exists is the UEFA Cup group stage.

Robin Rodriguez5 said:I honestly don't see where they're going to squeeze the new UEFA Cup format into the schedule. They've added an extra knockout round and bumped up the group stage by two matches. It’s just more clutter.

They'll figure it out. Move the first qualifying round up a week, cram the second round into a seven-day window, whatever. It might screw over the teams starting their domestic seasons later, but what can you do? There's no other way.

What’s everyone’s take on the way UEFA is shaking up the competitions for next season? We're looking at more direct entries for the giants in the Champions League, a slightly smoother path for the smaller clubs, the end of the old UEFA Cup era, and the birth of the Europa League. Here is how it all breaks down, I guess:

Champions League:
So, instead of just the usual 16 teams getting automatic entry (depending on their league standing), we’re going to see the champions from Scotland, Turkey, and Ukraine—essentially the 10th, 11th, and 12th ranked associations—getting in directly. Plus, the third-place finishers from Serie A, La Liga, and the Premier League, who previously had to grind through a third qualifying round, are in too. The remaining ten spots will be filled via two separate qualifying paths—one for champions and one for non-champions. First, there's a preliminary round for the champions of associations ranked 48th to 53rd. Three winners move into the first qualifying round, where they face the champions from the 16th to 47th ranked nations under the usual setup. Winners then move to the second qualifying round, joining the champions from Czechia, Greece, and Belgium (the 13th, 14th, and 15th ranked associations). In the third qualifying round, those ten winners from the second round play each other, and the victors head straight into the Champions League. That’s essentially one big "track" for champions. Then there's the second track for the "non-champions." This one has two rounds: the first involves runners-up from the 7th to 15th ranked nations and the third-place team from the 6th ranked association. Those winners advance to the second qualifying round, where they meet the third-place teams from the 4th and 5th ranked nations, along with the fourth-place teams from the top three leagues (England, Spain, Italy). Five winners from that second round make it into the LP. So, to summarize, the Champions League lineup includes:
- The top three clubs from the 1st through 3rd ranked countries
- The winner and runner-up from the 4th through 6th ranked countries
- The champions from the 7th through 12th ranked countries
- Five winners from the champions' qualifying path
- Five winners from the non-champions' qualifying path
The actual tournament format—the groups and the knockout stages—stays pretty much the same.

Europa League:
This is where things have actually changed the most. Instead of having eight groups of five clubs, we'll have twelve groups of four. It’ll follow the Champions League style, meaning each team plays everyone in their group once at home and once away. Basically, what used to be called the first round is now effectively the fourth qualifying round, and no club can jump straight into the Europa League without passing at least one qualifying stage. For the qualifiers, you get the cup winner plus two more teams from the top six nations; the cup winner plus three more from the 7th to 9th ranked nations; and the cup winner plus two more from the 10th to 53rd ranked nations (though places like Liechtenstein, Andorra, and San Marino only send their cup winners). The qualification system is probably best explained by checking this list here, so I won't bore you with a deep dive. Once qualifying wraps up, 48 clubs enter the Europa League groups—that's the defending UEFA Cup/Europa League winner, 37 teams from qualifying, and 10 losers from the Champions League qualifying rounds (I’ll explain that bit better in the "Transfers" section). As I mentioned, there will be 12 groups of four playing a double round-robin. The top two from each group move on, and they’ll be joined by the third-place teams from the Champions League, so the rest of the logic remains unchanged.

Transfers: Previously, the only way to move between competitions was for losers in the Champions League third qualifying round to drop into the first round of the UEFA Cup, or for third-place Champions League group teams to drop into the Europa League knockout stages. That's being overhauled. Now, those who lose in the second qualifying round of the Champions League drop into the fourth qualifying round of the Europa League, while the losers in the third qualifying round go straight into the Europa League group stage. On top of that, the usual rule still applies: the third-place teams from the Champions League groups join the Europa League in the spring. To put that in perspective regarding the old system, losers in the second qualifying round of the Champions League would have moved into what used to be the first round of the UEFA Cup (instead of being out entirely), and third-round losers would have gone straight into the UEFA League group stages (rather than dropping into an earlier round).

How this actually affects us:
Look, don't get me wrong—I'm an LA Galaxy fan through and through—but let's just pretend the season ends with this kind of standings lineup:
1. LA Galaxy
2. LAFC
3. Slaven
4. San Francisco
Now, say LAFC wins the domestic cup and they end up facing LA Galaxy in the final. Here’s how that would shake out:
San Francisco would start way down in the first qualifying round of the Europa League.
Slaven would enter at the second qualifying round of the Europa League.
LAFC would jump straight into the third qualifying round of the Europa League (you can see the potential opponents for all three teams listed here).
As for LA Galaxy, we’d start in the first qualifying round of the Champions League—kind of like those matchups we had last season against Khazar or this year with Linfield—just like we always have. If we clear that first hurdle, we move into the second qualifying round (similar to when we played Ekranas a couple of years back, or those matches against Domžale recently). Up until now, losing in that second round meant you were completely out of European competition—which hasn't happened to us yet, though it has happened to LAFC (against Shelbourne or Debrecen) and other big clubs—but under this setup, a loss there means you drop into the fourth qualifying round of the Europa League. So, basically, if we lose in the second round of the Champions League, we still have a path to the Europa League via that fourth qualifying round. If we actually win the second round, we hit the third, where we won't be drawn against the giants from the top twelve leagues (England, Spain, Italy, France, Russia, Germany, Romania, Portugal, Netherlands, Scotland, Turkey, Ukraine) anymore; instead, we'd face other winners from the second round. That really opens up a massive window for the Champions League, and even if we stumble there, we still slide right into the Europa League.

My two cents:
Generally speaking, I think for everyone except the champion, things are pretty much the same as before, except now the third or fourth-place teams also get a shot at Europa League qualifiers. But for the champion? Honestly, the path looks significantly better and easier. You just have to get past some total underdogs in the first round, and then you've got four guaranteed matches. On top of that, you're looking at two more matches (one home, one away) against a big-name club in the fourth qualifying round of the Europa League if you happen to slip up in the Champions League second round. Since both LA Galaxy and LAFC would likely be seeded in the second round—I highly doubt anyone else could take the title, anyway—it would be a disaster to lose there. Once you clear that second round, you've essentially locked in at least four home and four away European games, even if you lose them all, because winning the third round puts you in the Champions League, while losing sends you to the Europa League. So, in the end, my take is pretty positive. I'm looking at this primarily as an American and a Galaxy supporter, and this new system doesn't change much for the teams that used to play for the UEFA Cup, except it adds one extra spot for them. For the champion, provided they play decent football, it guarantees about 12 European matches, which is a much smoother ride than what we've dealt with in the past.

By the way, I'd love it if the mods could pin this thread as a top topic.

So, this is finally happening—now I really want to hear what you all think. The top post looks a little awkward sitting here in the thread since it was actually meant to be the original opening post, but hey, if my explanation made sense, let me know your thoughts.

hollowjackal4 said:So, this is finally happening—now I really want to hear what you all think. The top post looks a little awkward sitting here in the thread since it was actually meant to be the original opening post, but hey, if my explanation made sense, let me know your thoughts.

Honestly, people on this forum have been losing their minds over this in thread after thread... Thomas Johnson7 was a little late getting the "official" thread started, so now it looks like nothing’s even been said, but whatever, that's just how it goes.😁

The competition format has undergone some changes—I'd call them aesthetic changes because not much actually shifts. On paper, some things look better than before, while others look worse. We'll have to see how it actually plays out on the field next season.

All things considered, any change is a win in my book, so I'm totally on board with this.🙂

The bottom line:

For our champions—especially if it turns out to be LA Galaxy—these changes are huge. They actually give us a legitimate shot at making the Champions League, even with this current roster. Just look at how Seattle Sounders managed it; they’ll be seeded in the third qualifying round, so it's doable.
As for everyone else, the updates are fine, but they won't move the needle much. The only real benefit is the extra points earned during the qualifiers and having more matches in the UEFA League.

Of course I’m all for it. Dinamo will be playing in at least the EuroLeague every single season regardless. Honestly, this shift is a massive win for our other clubs too. The runners-up and even the Cup winner should get in—it just seems like they'll enter through different preliminary rounds, if I'm reading this correctly.