Monaco, Aug 28 (AP) With all 36 teams now confirmed for the Champions League, anticipation builds for the draw set to take place this Thursday in Monaco, marking the beginning of Europe's most prestigious club football competition.
This season, the format allows each club to face eight opponents during the initial league phase, which spans from September through January. The lineup of participating teams is heavily dominated by the top five wealthiest leagues; England, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France. However, the field also boasts diversity, welcoming entries from Cyprus and Kazakhstan for the first time in this lucrative tournament.
Let's delve into some intriguing figures surrounding this year’s Champions League:
4 First-time participants at the main stage of the Champions League include Bodo/Glimt from Norway, Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan, Pafos from Cyprus, and Union Saint-Gilloise from Belgium.
6 A historic number of six English clubs are featured in the 36-team draw. The Premier League provided four automatic qualifiers, plus a fifth due to exceptional performance across UEFA's competitions last season, and Tottenham, the Europa League champions.
8 Each team is assured eight matches in the group stage. This updated format provides two more matches than the previous system, which had 32 teams split into groups of four. Teams will face four opponents at home and four away.
15 Real Madrid holds the record with 15 titles. AC Milan follows with seven but did not qualify for this year's competition. Paris Saint-Germain enters this edition as the defending champions for the first time.
17 Tottenham finished 17th in the Premier League last season, marking record-low league placement for any team competing in the subsequent Champions League season.
144 The total number of games played in the new 36-team league format, which replaced the previous 96-game group stage with 32 teams last season.
2007 It's been 18 years since a Norwegian team, Rosenborg, last played in the main phase of the Champions League. Bodo/Glimt represents Norway again, hailing from a small town in the Arctic Circle.
7,000 The distance in kilometers from Almaty, central Asia, to Lisbon, western Europe, home to Sporting Lisbon and Benfica. In terms of time zone, Kazakhstan is four hours ahead of Portugal and England.
19.6 million Kairat, even as the lowest-ranked team, is guaranteed at least 19.6 million euros ($22.9 million) before considering game bonuses, final standings placements, and broadcast revenue shares.
150 million The Champions League winner is poised to earn approximately 150 million euros ($175 million) from UEFA in total earnings next May.
2.47 billion UEFA’s total prize money fund for this edition of the Champions League stands at 2.47 billion euros ($2.88 billion), which is more than quadruple the amount allocated for the Europa League, Europe's second-tier competition.
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