UEFA Planning Major Change to Champions League Format as 'Ceremony' Revealed

The Champions League could look very different from the 2027/28 season.

Nasir Jabbar

UEFA are planning to introduce a new Champions League format as a report has detailed how things may look like in the near future.

The Champions League received a huge revamp last season following the introduction of the 'League Phase' format.

The competition is in the second season of the new style, having got rid of the traditional group stage round.

The 'League Phase' means there are more fixtures in the Champions League, generating more money in the process.

And UEFA are plotting further ideas as part of plans to boost revenue.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, the Champions League will launch with a standalone fixture and may feature an opening ceremony.

From the 2027/28 season, the Champions League will start with the defending champions taking on an opponent at home in the only match of that night.

The Champions League could see a standalone opening game to kick-off the competition. Image: Getty

Per the report, the opening game of European football's elite competition is set to include an opening ceremony as part of a new commercial strategy masterminded by US agency Relevent.

Following the opening fixture on the Tuesday night, the rest of the action will take place across Wednesday and Thursday.

'Setting the first game aside is part of a strategy to increase value and could see some of the planet's biggest names from the world of music to perform in what would become an event', according to the Daily Mail.

UEFA's proposed new Champions League format comes after a report states they will send out tenders for the bidding process for their competitions from 2027 onwards over the coming weeks.

Relevent, the US firm brought in to sell the rights, wants to offer the first choice for each round of Champions League games exclusively to a global streaming platform such as Amazon Prime and Netflix in an attempt to significantly boost revenues.

They will simultaneously seek offers from the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, aiming to bring in around £4.3 billion per year in revenue.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: UEFA, Champions League, Football

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar