The major Champions League change that will impact Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham

Football is an ever-changing sport. As such, its most prominent competitions are not exempt from this rule - including the Champions League. Next year, in the 2024/25 season, the Champions League will be radically different. On top of this, it is also expanding - which will allow room for more teams to take part in it [via Premier League website].

Previously, just the four top teams from the Premier League have been allowed into the Champions League. However, thanks to the expansion, an extra team from England’s top flight could make it in.

Should five teams from the Premier League be allowed into the Champions League in 2024/25, it would not be for the first time. Five teams from England took part in the 2005/06 Champions League, as Liverpool won it in the previous year but failed to finish inside the top four of the Premier League at the conclusion of the 2004/05 season. Let’s look at the development that could impact the likes of London clubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham.

What will need to occur for five Premier League teams to win qualification?

For five Premier League teams to reach the Champions League in 2024/25, it will require teams from England to outperform clubs from abroad in European competitions this season.

A quote from the official Premier League website reads: “This also allows for an additional place to be each allocated to two countries whose clubs collectively performed the best in UEFA competitions the season before.”

What other changes have been made to the Champions League?

The Champions League group stage has been completely overhauled for the 2024/25 season. Instead of teams being split up into groups of four, they will now compete against one another in a massive 36-team league stage (also known as a ‘Swiss League’).

Teams will play eight games in the league phase of the competition, playing four games at home and four away. These fixtures will be selected in ‘seeding pots’, to allow for a fair set of games [via UEFA].

Following this, the top eight teams in the league will automatically qualify for the last 16. The teams that finished from 9th to 24th will then enter the playoff stage - by winning their respective playoff game, they will also enter the last 16.