Champions League last 16 to feature seeded draw in revamp

Next season’s competition will expand from 32 to 36 clubs, with the current six groups of four replaced by a single group in which teams face eight games against different opponents.

It is the first change to the Champions League since a 16-team knockout round replaced the second group stage in 2003-04. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

The revamped Champions League will feature a tennis-style seeding system for the last-16 knockout phase, UEFA said on Tuesday as it detailed changes to its elite club competition.

A semi-automated draw will also replace the manual draw, which has become a feature of the competition.

Next season’s competition will expand from 32 to 36 clubs, with the current six groups of four replaced by a single group in which teams face eight games against different opponents.

The top eight clubs will automatically qualify for the last 16, while those finishing ninth to 24th face a playoff round to determine the other eight.

Unlike the current open draw for the last 16, clubs will be seeded in a tennis-style draw depending on their performance in the group phase. This will mean the first and second seeds cannot meet until the final and cannot play the teams seeded third and fourth until the semifinals at the earliest.

It is the first change to the Champions League since a 16-team knockout round replaced the second group stage in 2003-04.

Speaking at a briefing on Tuesday, Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA’s Deputy General Secretary and Director of Football, said the new format would make the competition more unpredictable, ensure more matches between the big clubs and less dead rubbers.

The 36 clubs will be split into four pots of nine, with each club facing two from each pot. The final round of group matches will have 16 matches kick off simultaneously.

Another change will be to the Champions League draw ceremony, a laborious process traditionally involving balls being picked from different pots by former players.

Marchetti said UEFA modelling found that performing the draw for the new format in the same way would take “three or four hours” and involve around 900 balls.

Next season’s group stage draw will be a new hybrid system with some drawing of balls, but mostly done digitally.