A new set of regulations will be applied by UEFA to determine the 32 teams that will play in the UEFA Champions League.
The biggest change will come for the top four European leagues, which have been granted 16 group stage spots. Teams that finish in the top four spots in La Liga, the English Premier League, the Serie A and the Bundesliga will not have to go through a Qualifying stage.
There will be up to five teams from any given country if the champion comes from any of those leagues. If the team that lifts the title in Kyiv this season has already earned their spot in next year's competition, that spot will be handed out to the Czech League's winner or to the Swiss League's champion.
These rules will be re-evaluated after three years, when a new league ranking comes out.
Here's how UEFA will hand out Champions League spots in the next three years.
- La Liga, Bundesliga, English Premier League, Serie A: Four direct spots each (16 total)
- Ligue 1 and Russian league: Two direct spots each (four total)
- Primeira Liga, Turkish Super Lig, Belgian League and Ukrainian League: One direct spot each (four total).
- UEFA Champions League winner
- UEFA Europa League winner
The six remaining spots will be handed out via the Champions route (four spots) and the League route (two spots). The Champions route will include lower-tier teams such as the Champions from Austria, Croatia, the Eredivisie and the Greek league. The league route will include teams from France, Russia, and the runners-up from Portugal, Ukraine and Belgium, to name a few.
Staggered kick-offs will be implemented for the next three seasons. Games will begin at 12:55 ET/18:55 CET and 15:00 ET/ 21:00 CET
