The new Champions League format,"The Swiss League system" explained.

It’s no longer news and the most open secret that from the 2024/2025 campaign of the UEFA Champions League,there will be a new format which tagged the Swiss league format.

This article provides an insightful look into the new format and how it applies to the Champions League.

What is the Swiss League Format?

In simple terms,the Swiss league format is a league system which a certain number of teams(36 for the Champions league) whereby none of the teams relegate,are all put into a form of league table,with a certain number of rounds lesser than the number for a round-robin system in which every team does not play against every of the other teams on the league table.

The teams meet in each round and the pairings are done using a set of rules made to ensure that each team does not play any opponent more than once.

The winner of the completion played using that format is the team with the most number of points (like any league system) with a number of participants which must be an even number.

This system is used when the number of teams are more than the number for a round robin format(32 teams).

A play-all is often used when there is a very little number of competitors.

For the Swiss League system,it is different from all other formats because the pairing of teams is after each previous round,unlike other systems which have the pairings before the start of the tournament.

The Swiss system looks to give a clear winner with a lot of competitors and a little number of rounds of the competition.

The Swiss league system was first used in a chess tournament in 1895 in Zurich, Switzerland by Julius Müller,which gave it the name “Swiss format”.

The system of pairing teams

Apart from the first round where teams are paired randomly,teams are paired on their performance till that time.

In other rounds,teams are arranged based on their total scores and face teams with scores similar to theirs.

The rules for pairing teams vary according to the different forms of the Swiss League and are tough to carry out to ensure no team gaves twice and most times a computer software or program is used to conduct the pairing for perfection.

The pairing systems used are the dutch system and the Monrad system(used in Denmark and Norway).

The Dutch system

This involves a scenario where the players are classified into groups using their scores and players are ranked based on ratings and some other criteria too.

The bottom half is then paired with the top half of the table,then modifications are made to it in order to ensure that no teams face twice and the number of teams must be little.

The disadvantage is that it may lead to issues with integrity if the tournament where it is used has qualifiers preceding it.

For the knockout stages,the top team is paired with the bottom team,the 2nd bottom with the 2nd top team and so on. This is so as to make all teams be at their best during the competition.

The Monrad System

The teams are firstly ranked with their scores,then their starting numbers(which can be random or based on classification).

The 1st on the table meets the 2nd,the 3rd meets 4th and so on.

Then the other modifications are done so as to make sure all the other rules are followed. The teams are graded according to their scores and rankings,then each team faces the next team,without repetition.

The Monrad system used in chess games in Denmark is quite simple,with the teams racked at random and the pairings are only modified to ensure teams don’t meet each other twice.

The system in Norway has an optional classing system for the first round,and also within a score group, the pairing algorithm gives players alternating colours. It is also used in Scrabble and it is known as King of the Hill format. It is different from the Swiss pairing system.

Tie breaking and final scores

There is a number of rounds played,after the last round the teams are ranked with their scores,if some teams are tied on scores, a tie break score is used,such as the sum of the scores of all the opponents.(Buchholz chess)

The advantages and disadvantages

Assuming there are no drawn games,determining the winner and the loser will require the same number of rounds used in a knockout tournament,which is the binary number of the teams rounded. This way,eight teams can play in three rounds,16 teams play in four rounds,1024 players can play in 10 rounds,etc.

If the rounds played are fewer than this minimum number,two players or more could finish the competition with a perfect score, by winning all their games and not even facing each other.

Comparing it to the knockout tournament,the Swiss system can be played without eliminating anyone,any team who is in the tournament knows they can play in all the rounds,regardless of their results. The only exception to this is that one team is left over when the number of teams is an odd number.

In a Swiss system,all the results per round are recorded before the next round.This means that each round will be as long as it’s slowest match whereas in a single elimination tournament,any game can go on when the two games before it have been completed. This is a disadvantage as one branch of the bracket can fall behind then have to catch up.

Relating it to next season’s Champions League

Next season, there will be a league of 36 teams,where each team plays eight different opponents (4 at home and 4 away)

The four extra teams will be gotten from the leagues,like the Italian Serie A will have 5 teams and so on.These teams from the same league have a probability of facing each other (only once) which brings old rivalry into the Champions League.

Just to note,there will no opportunity of dropping into the Europa League after the first round of games,which deals a blow to some of the middle classed teams(Atalanta,Marseille,Aston Villa) and the likes.

The top eight teams will automatically qualify for the round of 16,the teams between ninth and 24th will have two legged play -offs.

Travelling fans will have to add extra trips to their schedule,but if their teams have qualified early and they have dead rubber games,they could actually skip those matches.

It is pretty tough to get knocked out actually and a Premier League team should not even have to bother about finishing in the top 24,it should be a piece of cake. It will be an extended form of a group stage( 8 games instead of 6) and there is also a possibility of a group stage game being repeated in the finals.

This system has been used in other sports,mostly Chess,but it has not really been used in football except in e-sports,but UEFA must have faith in it even though it was a voted decision.

Why the change?

The reason which will be given by UEFA will be about bringing evolution into the competition,but in the actual sense,four more teams and two more games in the group stages means more TV rights bought,more ticket gate receipts and more supporters travelling.

This means more revenue for UEFA.

So there you have it,the new system in the Champions league is here for all of us to witness,let’s enjoy.