Champions League gets new look to go along with new format
The Champions League is all change this campaign - and has been given a bit of a visual refresh
The Champions League branding has received a new look to go along with the radical changes to its format.
The changes to the look of the introductory video package that will play before and during each game in UEFA's flagship club competition are not as sweeping as the alterations to the tournament schedule.
The big change to the 'Swiss-style system' kick in from this season, with the 36 qualifying teams all being ranked in one massive league table based on their results in four lots of home and away games (eight games in total) against opponents selected based on seedings.
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New Champions League branding unveiled
UEFA were also due an update to the Champions League's visual branding, however: the confederation updates their video every three years, with the last change coming in 2021.
The logo and the heavy use of stars remains in place, as do the swooping shots of a computer-generated stadium that look more like expensive novelty cereal bowl than an actual stadium.
That's intercut with clips of Champions League action, including goal celebrations from Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, as well as Real Madrid lifting last year's trophy.
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The overall colour scheme is a bit darker than the previous branding, but is given a bit of life by multi-coloured detailing.
Departing from the magenta swoops of the last intro, the new version now looks like seemingly every high-performance desktop PC, keyboard and mouse now available on the gaming market with the stupid multi-coloured LEDs that serve no actual purpose other than to impress the exceptionally dim-witted, I'm a grown man for god's sake.
The Champions League is currently in the third qualifying round, which will be followed by a 14-team play-off round to narrow down the final entrants to the 36-team league phase, which will begin in mid-September.
This season's final will be held at Munich's Allianz Arena on May 31 2025.
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Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.