There will be Champions League in January and Thursdays from the academic year 2024-25.

From the academic year 2024/25, the one that inaugurates the reform Champions League with 36 teamsthe highest European competition It will also be played in January and on Thursdays. This was confirmed by UEFA this Tuesday, who incidentally slapped England on the wrist by insisting that Local tournaments must avoid the clash of midweek fixtures that coincide with the Champions League, Europa League and Conference. In this regard, it should be remembered that last season’s matches in the round of 16 of the Champions League with Dortmund-Chelsea or Bruges-Benfica overlapped with the FA Cup between Arsenal and Manchester City.

The body chaired by the Slovenian Aleksander Čeferin was very explicit in the letter sent to the various federations. In this letter, UEFA reminds all its associations of the “fundamental principles” of the international calendar, which prohibit such matches “unless exceptional circumstances require it”. And he adds that “scheduling league matches or national cups to coincide directly with others in UEFA competitions is not in the interest of fans and is bad for football”.

As for the new format, the Champions League will have four more teams and two more days in the first phase. will be held a the first week in mid-September with Thursday games, eight games in the first phase, two days in January and an additional round of 32 games. From there, the usual round to the final of the Champions League, on the schedule 31 May 2025. The Europa League will be celebrated ten days earlier, and the Conference on the 28th of the same month.