The 2024-25 edition of the UEFA Champions League has progressed beyond the league phase and the fixtures for the round of 16 will now be determined through a draw on February 21.
The season’s Champions League is being played under a new format, with the group stage being replaced by a league phase comprising 36 teams.
The program will take place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, and the Champions League draw will be followed by that of the Europa League and the Europa Conference League.
What is the format of UEFA Champions League draw?
Following is the format or process through which the matches for the pre-quarterfinals will be determined on Friday:
Round of 16
The winners of the knockout phase play-offs take the relevant position in the bracket as shown below.
Four bowls are prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of each pair of seeded teams placed in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league rankings.
The draw allocates the side of the bracket for all the seeded teams, starting with the teams ranked 7/8 and finishing with the teams ranked 1/2.
One ball is taken from the bowl containing the two relevant ranked teams (i.e., the teams ranked 7 and 8) and opened to display the team.
The first team drawn from this bowl is placed in its reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket (see above).
The other seeded team of the pairing is then drawn, displayed, and allocated the corresponding reserved spot on the blue side of the bracket (see above).
The same procedure is carried out with the remaining seeded teams.
Quarterfinals
The draw is made to determine the order of the matches (i.e. which team will host the first leg and which team the return leg) as all the potential opponents are known until the final.
Four bowls are prepared for this draw, two for the silver side of the bracket and two for the blue side of the bracket.
Each bowl contains two balls representing the winners of the Round of 16 matches from one rung of the relevant side of the bracket.
The first bowl for the silver side contains slips of paper marked “Winners R16 – 1” and “Winners R16 – 2”, the second bowl for the silver side contains “Winners R16 – 3” and “Winners R16 – 4”.
The first bowl on the blue side has “Winners R16 – 5” and “Winners R16 – 6” and finally “Winners R16 – 7” and “Winners R16 – 8” remains in the second bowl of the blue side.
The draw starts by shuffling and then drawing the balls placed in the first bowl of the silver side of the bracket one after another.
The first ball drawn from this bowl indicates the team that will play the first match of the quarterfinal at home, and the second ball indicates the team that will play the return leg at home.
The procedure is repeated with the remaining bowls to determine the order of matches for all the quarterfinal pairings.
Semifinals
Two bowls are prepared for this draw, one bowl for the silver side of the bracket with balls containing slips of paper marked “Winners Q-F – 1” and “Winners Q-F – 2”, and one for the blue side of the bracket containing “Winners Q-F – 3” and “Winners Q-F – 4”.
The draw starts by shuffling and then drawing the balls placed in the bowl for the silver side of the bracket.
The first ball drawn indicates the team which will play the first match of the silver side semifinal at home, and the second ball the team which will play the return leg at home.
The procedure is repeated with the second bowl to determine the order of the matches for the blue side semifinal.
Final
As the teams were designated to a side of the bracket by the draw of the knock-out phase play-off / or round of 16, no draw is made for the final. The winner of the semifinal on the silver side of the bracket is designated as the nominal home team for the final.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com