From the beginning of the 2024/25 season, the format of the Champions League season as we know it will change significantly.
The current group stage will be no more, replaced with a ’round robin’ stage which will see clubs play fixtures against eight different teams, playing half of those matches at home and half of them away.
There’s a school of thought that there’s nothing wrong with the competition in its current format, however, former super agent and co-creator of the Premier League, Jon Smith, believes that the changes are for the betterment of the game and should be embraced.
“Being one of the pioneers of the Premier League I’m not against change. Change is good. Evolution is good,” he said in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside.
“[…] Changing the football landscape is good because it’s global entertainment and it needs to evolve.
“I don’t have a problem with UEFA evolving the Champions League, but I do I have a bit of a problem with FIFA and the Club World Cup. I kind of think it’s a game too far. They’re making so much money already and I don’t see it as a benefit for our game.”
It might be a controversial point of view but it should be remembered that Smith himself was once seen as one of the disruptors of the English game.
When the Premier League started in 1992 English football had never seen anything like it, and now it’s difficult to get away from the fact that the English top-flight is world leading.
Before the Champions League the competition was the European Cup and only open to the champions of each country.
Just because it will be in a different format again, it doesn’t mean that the Champions League will be any worse.