Champions League: How New Draw Will Be Conducted as Uefa Adopts Computers

• More radical changes should be expected in the Champions League next season
• The complexity of the expanded new format has called for the use of a computer
• A hybrid system to ‘computerise’ the draw could be tested in 2024/2025

UEFA will have to adopt a computerized system to determine the Champions League draw from next season thanks to the complexity of the new format.

The new format of the competition will feature 36 teams instead of the normal 32, with all teams playing in one group stage.

In what is the biggest change to the competition since 1992, group-stage matches are also set to increase from six to eight.

Since the traditional group stages have been done away with, the logistics of the draw will need to change to determine a team’s eight group stage opponents.

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Why is the draw being computerised?

UEFA has since determined that conducting the draw manually will not make sense, from a practical point of view, as per ESPN.

Drawing each of the club’s opponents manually will require up to 900 balls, and the process could take up to four hours to complete due to the various considerations in the draw.

The hybrid system means the only manual aspect of the draw will be the choosing of the team whose draw is to be determined.

Opponents of the selected team will then be determined automatically by a computer from all four pots. The computer will also determine the fixtures that are home and away.

According to UEFA, the computer systems are reliable and have been thoroughly audited.

The Guardian further reports that an English IT company designed the software that will be used, and there are backup systems in place in case of any hitch.

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Fans react to new UCL format

Sports Brief also reported on how fans received an explainer on the new Champions League format.

UEFA released a video on March 4 breaking down how the new system will work, but fans deduced that the new format was similar to the controversial “Super League”.

In the new format, each team will play eight matches in the new league against eight different teams. After the group stage, the teams will be formatted into a table with the top eight sides automatically proceeding to the knockout stages.