The UEFA Champions League is one of the most prominent club soccer tournaments in the world, dating back to the 1950s. It’s been around for over 60 years now, and it still lives on to be the home of the biggest names in soccer today. If you’re lacking in all the important details about how this tournament works and need the Champions League explained, this guide has everything you need.
What is the Champions League?
The UEFA Champions League is Europe’s biggest arena for professional soccer tournament where 32 teams rule each other out in a total of five rounds to find the best soccer club in the region. This year marks the 66th edition of the UEFA Champions League, which has been an annual major event in sports since 1955.
How do teams qualify for the tournament?
The UEFA coefficients of member associations determine the number of teams that each association enters into the Champions League. Higher coefficient means more teams representing the association in the Champions League and the fewer qualification rounds to compete in. There are 32 playing teams in total.
These 32 teams are then divided into four pots, with teams coming from the same association unable to play against each other. Pot 1 consists of Champions League titleholders, Europa League titleholders and the champions of the top six associations based on their UEFA coefficients. On the other hand, Pots 2, 3, and 4 are made up of the remaining teams that are seeded based on their UEFA coefficients.
Game format of Champions League explained
The Group Stage
In a double round-robin format, the 32 teams compete in what we call the Group Stage. In this stage, the teams are ranked according to the points they rake in. Three points are given for a win, and one point for a tie. No points are given for a loss. In the event of a tie on the acquired points, the UEFA has a tie-breaking criteria to curb the ranking. Eventually, the group winners and runner-up advance to the round of 16, which is the first round of the knockout phase.
The Knockout Phase
The remaining clubs at this point will now be split into two pots of eight; one containing the winners from the group stage and the other containing the runners-up.
Now that we got the Champions League explained, it’s time to see how the games are progressing. Be sure to head on to Nitrogen Sports Blog for news, updates, and betting odds on the UCL 2020.
Comments