2024/25 will be the first Champions League season with 36 teams. Who is already in for sure?
One league instead of eight groups, eight instead of three different opponents for everyone: the preliminary round of the Champions League is changing radically for the 2024/25 season. Following the major reform, 36 clubs will be allowed to participate for the first time, four more than before. The additional places will go to the third-placed team in the French Ligue 1, a champion from a smaller league via qualification and the two associations that performed best in the European Cup in the previous season: Serie A and the Bundesliga.
In total, 25 of the 36 teams qualify via their league position, plus the two extra tickets mentioned above, the two reigning Champions League and Europa League winners and seven clubs from the qualifiers. The following are therefore certain to qualify :
Germany (5 fixed participants): Bayer Leverkusen, FC Bayern, VfB Stuttgart, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund
Italy (5): Inter Milan, AC Milan, FC Bologna, Juventus Turin, Atalanta Bergamo
England (4): Manchester City, FC Arsenal, FC Liverpool, Aston Villa
Spain (4): Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, FC Girona, Atletico Madrid
France (3): Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco, Stade Brest
Netherlands (2): PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord Rotterdam
Portugal (1): Sporting Lisbon
Belgium (1): Club Brugge
Scotland (1): Celtic Glasgow
Austria (1): Sturm Graz
Donezk, Frankfurt, Roma and Benfica hope
If Real Madrid win the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1, the champion with the best UEFA coefficient from the Champions League qualifiers will receive a direct ticket. As things stand at present, that is Shakhtar Donetsk. Real have already qualified via their league position in Spain. However, if BVB make the big leap, the sixth-placed team in the Bundesliga – currently Eintracht Frankfurt – will move up.
If Europa League winners Atalanta Bergamo retain fifth place in the Serie A table, the sixth-placed team in Serie A – currently AS Roma – will move up. However, if Atalanta jumps to fourth place in the league, a team that would otherwise have had to qualify will move up again, namely the team with the best individual UEFA coefficient – regardless of whether they are champions or not. That is currently Benfica Lisbon
