The relegation rules will be canceled in European Matches?

According to reports, the "relegation" rule in European competitions, which was well known to fans in the past, is about to disappear from history.


According to Italian media outlet Football and Finance, there are indications in some UEFA documents that starting from the 2024/25 season, the Swiss system will be adopted for the UEFA Champions League, eliminating the transitional phase between one competition and another after the group stage.

As outlined in the documents, the main changes to the competition format include:

Alterations to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League.

Increased number of clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League.

Modification of the number of matchdays in the first phase (currently the group stage) of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

Introduction of an additional round of matches for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.

Therefore, the novelty of the new rules lies in the elimination of the transitional phase between different competitions after the conclusion of the group stage. The document states, "After the group stage, teams ranked 1st to 8th will directly qualify for the Round of 16. Teams ranked 9th to 16th will face teams ranked 17th to 24th in a knockout round to secure a spot in the Round of 16. Teams ranked 25th and below will be eliminated from all UEFA club competitions (i.e., they will not qualify for any other competition)."

As a result, after the group stage, there will effectively be 72 teams continuing in the cup competitions, with each competition having 24 teams, whereas the current format accommodates 64 teams (16 for the UEFA Champions League, 24 for the UEFA Europa League, and 24 for the UEFA Europa Conference League).