Champions League Format to Change Again in 2027/28 as Premier League Clubs Learn New Fixture Rule

Globally hailed as the pinnacle of club football, the UEFA Champions League received a major revamp last year for the 2024-25 edition. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) discarded the traditional group stage and instead introduced a new league phase Champions League format in the initial round of the competition. Nonetheless, despite attracting early criticism, the revamped version became a hit with more matches, more clubs, and significantly increased competitiveness.

In the 2024-25 campaign, Big clubs like Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and 15-time Champions League winners Real Madrid were pushed to fight for their place in the Round of 16 in the knockout play-offs matchups after failing to finish in the top eight during the league phase. The European footballing body UEFA has constantly sought to introduce innovations to the Champions League format.

Leading up to the roadmap, UEFA and European Football Clubs (EFC, formally known as European Club Association)'s new joint venture UC3 recently announced a commercial strategic deal for a period of six years beginning from 2027-28 and running until 2032-33. UC3 is the commercial entity that will be responsible for managing the rights of the world's most premier club competition, UEFA Champions League. This organisation has been formed to manage the media, sponsorship, licensing and commercial rights of all UEFA organised competitions.

Moreover, Champions League organisers are ambitious to skyrocket revenue's having already put UEFA's all three men's club tournaments (UEFA Champions, Europa League & Conference) media rights to tender across five major European markets - UK, Spain, Italy, France, and Germany to maximise the broadcasting outreach across the continent.

UEFA Plotting Champions League Schedule Shake-Up

The European football body has now announced to roll down a UEFA Champions League new format, imitating the US-style season opener. Reportedly, from the 2027-28 Champions League onwards, the crowned champions will commence the tournament with a season-opening match on Tuesday in a standalone fixture. The defending champions will play the curtain raiser at their home.

Unlike a full-fledged game week spreading across three days that we have been seeing over the years. The rest of the teams then would be playing their first on the following days, Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. For example, this season, PSG would have hosted Atalanta at Parc des Princes to flag off the 2025-26 campaign. It also means extensive coverage for the inaugural match, which will lead to more viewership.

This concept is traditionally followed in American sports in the NFL or the NBA; it's the reigning champions who usually play a curtain raiser fixture at their home ahead of the rest of the teams. However, it is yet to be seen whether this will be implemented in the Women's Champions League format or not.