Champions League format history
Every shape the European Cup and the Champions League have taken since 1955, and what each Club Manager start actually plays. Each change of format was checked against two independent publishers on 2026-09-10, and the sources are listed at the bottom. Where a detail only had one source it was left out rather than guessed.
The timeline at a glance
Seasons
Name
First stage
Knockout
1955-56 to 1990-91
European Cup
Knockout from the first round
Two legs in every round, then a one match final
1991-92
European Cup
2 groups of four
Group winners straight to the final
1992-93
Champions League
2 groups of four
Group winners straight to the final
1993-94
Champions League
2 groups of four
One off semi-finals at the group winners' grounds
1994-95 to 1996-97
Champions League
4 groups of four
Two legged quarter-finals and semi-finals
1997-98 to 1998-99
Champions League
6 groups of four
Two legged quarter-finals and semi-finals
1999-2000 to 2002-03
Champions League
8 groups of four, then a second group stage
Two legged quarter-finals and semi-finals
2003-04 to 2023-24
Champions League
8 groups of four
Two legs from the round of 16 to the semi-finals
2024-25 onward
Champions League
One 36 club league table
Two legs from the play-offs to the semi-finals
Season by season
1955-56 to 1990-91: Straight knockout, home and away
European Cup
Sixteen invited clubs in the first season, then the champions of each national league. Every round before the final was a two legged tie decided on aggregate, and the final was one match at a venue fixed in advance.
1991-92: The first group stage
Thirty two clubs entered the first round; eight survived two knockout rounds. The eight survivors were split into two groups of four, played home and away, and the two group winners met in the final with no semi-finals.
1992-93: Renamed, same shape
Champions League
Eight clubs in two groups of four after the knockout rounds. The two group winners went straight to the final again.
1993-94: Semi-finals return, as single matches
Eight clubs in two groups of four after the knockout rounds. The top two of each group went to one off semi-finals, each hosted by a group winner, and the winners met in the final.
1994-95 to 1996-97: Sixteen clubs, four groups, quarter-finals
Sixteen clubs in the group stage. Four groups of four, the top two of each into two legged quarter-finals and semi-finals, then a one match final.
1997-98 to 1998-99: Twenty four clubs, six groups, runners-up let in
Twenty four clubs in the group stage, including the runners-up of eight domestic leagues for the first time. Six groups of four; the six winners and the two best runners-up went to the quarter-finals.
1999-2000 to 2002-03: Thirty two clubs and a second group stage
Thirty two clubs in the first group stage, with up to four from the strongest leagues. Eight groups of four, the top two into a second group stage of four groups of four, and the top two of those into the quarter-finals.
2003-04 to 2023-24: Thirty two clubs, eight groups, a round of 16
Thirty two clubs in the group stage. Eight groups of four, the top two into a round of 16, then two legged quarter-finals and semi-finals and a one match final.
2024-25 onward: Thirty six clubs in one league table
Thirty six clubs. One table: each club plays eight different opponents, four at home and four away. The top eight go straight to the round of 16, ninth to 24th play a two legged knockout play-off for the other eight places, and 25th and below are out, with no drop into the Europa League.
The away goals rule
UEFA first used the away goals rule in 1965, in the Cup Winners' Cup, and for most of this competition's life a tie level on aggregate went to whichever side had scored more away from home. It was abolished in every UEFA club competition from 2021-22. A tie level after two legs now goes to extra time and then penalties, and a goal scored away in extra time counts the same as one at home.
What Club Manager plays
Generated from the game engine itself. A check recomputes these lines from the engine before every release and fails if they have gone stale, so this block cannot quietly describe a game that has moved on. Where the engine stands in for a format it cannot play yet, it says so.
📅 Starting 2026-27
Eight groups of four into the quarter-finals, two legged ties, no away goals rule. A stand in: the real 2026-27 competition runs thirty six clubs in one league table, which the engine does not play yet.
The real 2024-25 onward shape: thirty six clubs in one league table.
🦊 Starting 2015-16
Eight groups of four into the round of 16, two legged ties, away goals count double. That is the real 2015-16 format.
The real 2003-04 to 2023-24 shape: thirty two clubs, eight groups, a round of 16.
🕰️ Starting 2010-11
Eight groups of four into the round of 16, two legged ties, away goals count double. That is the real 2010-11 format.
📼 Starting 2005-06
Eight groups of four into the round of 16, two legged ties, away goals count double. That is the real 2005-06 format.
Pick an era and manage a club through it
Questions people ask
When did the Champions League start?
The competition started in 1955-56 as the European Cup, sixteen invited clubs playing two legged knockout ties with a one match final. The Champions League name arrived in 1992-93, at first only for the group stage, and the shape it named had already been played once, in 1991-92.
When did the group stage begin, and when did it end?
The first group stage was 1991-92: two groups of four whose winners met in the final. Groups grew to four in 1994-95, six in 1997-98 and eight in 1999-2000, with a second group stage from 1999-2000 to 2002-03 and a round of 16 in its place from 2003-04. The last group stage was 2023-24; since 2024-25 there is one league table of 36 clubs.
When did away goals stop counting double?
From 2021-22, in every UEFA club competition. A tie level after two legs now goes to extra time and then penalties. UEFA had used the rule since 1965.
How does the league phase work?
Thirty six clubs sit in one table. Each plays eight different opponents, four at home and four away. The top eight go straight to the round of 16, ninth to 24th play a two legged play-off for the other eight places, and 25th to 36th go out with no Europa League place. From the play-offs to the semi-finals the ties are two legged, and the final is one match.
Why does the modern Club Manager save play groups instead of the league phase?
Because the engine does not play the league phase yet, and we would rather say so than pretend. The 2026-27 start is the stand in: eight groups of four into the quarter-finals, two legged ties, no away goals rule. the real 2026-27 competition runs thirty six clubs in one league table, which the engine does not play yet. The 2015-16, 2010-11, 2005-06 starts play the real format of their own seasons.
Where this comes from
Every change of format above, and the first season of the shape it opened, rests on at least two publishers agreeing: Wikipedia's page for that season against RSSSF's results archive for the same season, which lists every tie with both of its legs, and UEFA's own pages for the 2024 format and the away goals rule. The seasons inside a longer period rest on those same sources saying when the shape changed next. 39 sources across 4 publishers, last checked 2026-09-10. A season that changes format after that date is a season this page does not describe yet, and it will say so here when it is checked.
Play with this history
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