The new football season brings a wide variety of competitions. First of all, these are national championships in most European countries. However, there is a tournament that attracts the attention of viewers from all over the world and it is called the UEFA Champions League.
Features of the tournament
The word champion appears for a reason, although for a long time not only the winners of the championships of their countries, but also the second, third and in some cases even fourth teams compete here. The winners of the previous season of the Europa League also get here.
However, it all began back in 1955, as a tournament of champions of their countries, and this was the first European Cup in history.
The tournament has several stages of qualifying competitions, in which teams from weaker championships and third-fourth teams from the leading ones participate. Then a group stage is organized, where, by lot, the opponents play eight games. Then comes the playoffs, where the 16 best go.
Then the tournament goes with elimination, where the teams play two games – on their own and away fields. The final consists of one match and in 2026 it will be held in Munich at the Allianz Arena, the stadium of Munich’s Bayern. This multiple winner of the tournament has every chance of reaching the final, the team is a participant in the main group stage.
Main features of the tournament
These competitions provide opportunities for experienced players who are recognized stars to demonstrate their skills. However, during the matches, new names constantly appear, which, although known to the public, were not paid much attention to them.
The tournament record holder is Real Madrid, which has won it 14 times, including the European Champions Cup. At the same time, Real has lost three more finals. The second in trophies is Italian Milan, which has seven victories. Team captain Paolo Maldini became the oldest footballer to receive this trophy at the age of 39 years and 239 days.
You can watch the matches on pay TV channels or some streaming services. Every year the broadcasting companies change, because this tournament is attractive to advertisers and brings income to everyone, including the federation, clubs, broadcasting companies. There are no free broadcasts, because the rights to them are becoming more expensive every year. The modern UEFA Champions League is the most representative tournament with the highest level of football, and provides all the stars of this game.