Champions League

The premier club competition in European football, organized by UEFA, in which the top teams from each country's league compete to determine the European champion.

Champions League

Overview

The Champions League is the premier European club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), officially known as the UEFA Champions League. Club teams that have achieved top results in their respective national leagues participate, and the eventual champion is determined through a tournament lasting approximately one year. It began in 1955 as the European Cup and was reorganized under its current name in 1992, and it is regarded as the most prestigious and highest-level club competition in the world.

Main Content

History and Evolution

In 1955, the European Cup was founded on the proposal of French sports journalist Gabriel Hanot. Initially, it was a pure knockout tournament with only national league champions participating.
From 1992, the competition was renamed the UEFA Champions League, and with the introduction of a group stage, it achieved commercial success and the number of participating teams was expanded.
From 1997, league runners-up were also allowed to participate, and it gradually developed into a structure in which more berths were allocated to the top leagues.

Competition Format

Currently, 32 teams participate (expanded to 36 teams from the 2024-25 season), divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each, playing a group stage in a home-and-away round-robin format.
The top two teams from each group advance to the round of 16, followed by a single-elimination bracket through the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. The final is a single match played at a neutral venue.
From the 2024-25 season, the existing group stage has been replaced by a "league phase," in which 36 teams each play 8 matches; the top 8 teams advance directly to the round of 16, while teams ranked 9th to 24th go through a playoff to reach the round of 16.

Major Records and Traditions

The club with the most titles is Real Madrid, with 14 championships. They are followed by AC Milan (7), Liverpool (6), and Bayern Munich (6).
The all-time individual top scorer is Cristiano Ronaldo, with more than 140 goals. Lionel Messi is in pursuit.
The final is held in a major European city every year; the 2024 final took place at Wembley Stadium in London.

Prestige and Economic Value of the Competition

The Champions League is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world, with cumulative global viewership of over 400 million for the final.
The winner's prize money amounts to tens of billions of Korean won, and each team earns enormous revenue through broadcasting rights, sponsorship, and match income. This also acts as a factor deepening the economic disparity in European club football.
The competition's success has reinforced the dominance of the big leagues in Europe, and there is criticism that it encourages wealthy clubs to concentrate talent despite financial fair play (FFP) regulations.

Latest Trends

From the 2024-25 season, the Champions League has undergone major changes with a new format. Instead of the previous 32-team group stage, it has switched to a single-league format with 36 teams, and each team plays 8 different opponents. As a result, matchups between big clubs are more likely to occur earlier and more frequently, and broadcasting revenue has expanded due to the increased number of matches. UEFA is also seeking to curb club spending by introducing new financial regulations for European club competitions from 2025. Meanwhile, despite conflicts with the movement to create a European Super League (ESL), the Champions League continues to consolidate its position as the world's top club competition, and the 2025 final is scheduled to be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich.