Which teams have secured a place for the new-look 2024-25 Champions League

The final whistle at Wembley Stadium on the night of 1 June will not only bring the curtain down on this year’s edition of the UEFA Champions League but also the existing format of the competition that has entertained legions of global fans since its inception in 1992.

Since its inception in 1955, the European Cup as it was known was played on a simple premise where all the domestic champions from the UEFA member states were involved in a straight home-away, unseeded knockout tournament with just 16 teams participating in the first edition which saw Real Madrid win the final in Paris.

Demands from the bigger teams lead to the introduction of a new format as of the 1992 season which saw more teams from the national leagues with higher coefficients being allocated places in the group stage and teams from smaller nations having to go through an arduous qualification phase to secure a place in the 32 team group stage. The group stage format was a success leading to the competition growing worldwide and being regarded as the definitive premium competition in the domestic game.

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Fast forward to 2018 and pressure from many sides for more games, saw UEFA confirm the introduction of a new 36 team expanded format which will get underway next September.

New ‘Swiss Model’ UCL

The group stage is now a thing of the past with all 36 qualified teams participating in one single ‘league’ with each team set to play four home and away games against opponents drawn from seeded pots.

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After the eight games, the teams in the top eight places automatically take a place in the Round of 16 with teams who finish 9-24 going into a knockout play-off round to join the top eight in the last 16 as teams in 25-36th places eliminated from all competitions.

The remainder of the competition follows the traditional home-away knockout format through to the final that will be held in Munich next year.

Who has qualified for the new UCL format?

29 teams automatically secure a place in the new 36 team format with the remaining seven having to go through a series of playoff rounds.