From 2027
©IMAGO
There will be an opening game in the UEFA Champions League from 2027. As the European Football Union and its clubs decided, the defending champions will play the first game of the new premier class season in the future – in front of their home crowd. The only game should take place on Tuesday in order to focus on the winner of the previous season. All other participants will only start the new season on Wednesday and Thursday in order to “ensure maximum visibility for all clubs,” the statement said.
If the regulation had been introduced at the beginning of the current season, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain would have opened the highest European club competition against Atalanta Bergamo at the Parc des Princes. But the French, who won 4-0, only played on Wednesday – where, just like on Tuesday and Thursday, there were six games each on the program.
According to the innovation, five of the six Tuesday games will now be postponed to Wednesday and Thursday. It is not known whether such a change is also planned for the women’s premier class.