Who is AE Live, the company responsible for the Champions League draw automated software?

The 36 entrants to the 2024/25 Champions League will discover their league phase opponents on Thursday as European soccer turns its gaze to the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Every year the UCL draw is a major event, with the great and the good in attendance to make the all-important draw. However this year, with an expanded and altered competition structure, there’s some major changes.

The first and most significant to the real business at hand is that the draw will no longer be made physically, i.e. humans randomly selecting teams to complete the fixture list. Instead, British company AE Live have created a complex draw system that will ensure that the whole event goes off without a hitch.

AE Live describes itself as “a leading provider of television graphics” and has worked with the likes of the Premier League, FIFA, NBA, YouTube and CNN, amongst countless other major global brands. But even with such extensive experience, organisers admit that Thursday’s draw presents some novel challenges.

“We’re taking cyber security incredibly seriously,” said Dave Gill, AE Live’s chief technology officer. “Clearly, this is a sensitive issue. I’m reluctant to go into details about what we’re doing, but I can assure you we have taken all steps we can to make sure this is as safe and secure as possible.”

How will the Champions League draw be made?

Initially, the format of the draw for this season’s Champions League will look reassuringly familiar. There will be a room full of dignitaries and VIPs in Monaco and they will begin by randomly drawing a ball, which contains the name of a team.

However, at this point things change dramatically. The first team selected will then be submitted to AE Live’s draw system and they will be allocated eight teams to play in the new league stage. Four of those will be home fixtures, and four to be played away from home. These eight teams will consist of two teams from each of the four seeding pots in the draw.

Then, the on-stage drawers will return to action to select the second team and they will be allocated eight opponents. This process will continue until each of the 36 teams has been allocated eight league phase opponents.

Which players are at the Champions League draw?

With the bulk of the process being handled by AE Live’s sophisticated drawing program, you may think that there’s no need for on-stage stars. Not so. The draw for the 2024/25 Champions League league stage will be overseen by two bona fide soccer greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Gianluigi Buffon.

Ronaldo, who has recently embarked on a new season with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, is the record goal-scorer in the history of the competition and has lifted the trophy five times. The Portuguese star will also be honoured with a special award from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin in recognition of his incredible career.

CR7 will be joined on stage by another member of European soccer royalty. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made over 1,1000 professional appearances across his career and was named in UEFA’s Team of the Season on five occasions.

Buffon never lifted the Champions League, despite making it to the final three times. He did, however, win the Italian championship ten times and lifted the World Cup with Italy in 2006. That year, he finished as runner-up in the Ballon d’Or voting.