UEFA considering new Champions League format: the details
The Champions League reform project, which would come into force from the 2024-2025 season, provides for the expansion of the competition from 32 to 36 teams and the creation of the first phase with six groups of 6 teams each.
As specified by the British source, the reform would implement the request of the ECA, the association which includes the main European clubs, to play more games in the continental competition, which would increase their income and the level of television rights. If the reform were to be implemented, the two finalists of the competition would, therefore, play a total of 17 matches instead of 13.
This would be the preferred solution. Another would reintroduce the groups also in the second phase, instead of the round of 16, in which the qualified teams would play six games instead of the two of the knockout round.
But the most reliable hypothesis is that of 36 teams divided into groups of 6, with the top two from each group qualifying to the round of 16, plus the best four teams from third places. This would guarantee 10 matches to every team that qualified to the Champions League.