The UEFA Champions League has transformed its format over the past three seasons, ditching the group stage for a league phase. That shift shows up in the match schedule too, particularly in the opening round, which is being staged exceptionally across three days: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Traditionally, the tournament kept its evenings to Tuesday and Wednesday only. This distribution breaks from that habit.
An "exclusive week" for each European competition
A report published today, Thursday, by the Spanish newspaper "Marca" traces the main reason behind the three-day opening round to the concept of the "exclusive week" that UEFA has adopted as part of the new format for its continental competitions.
Each of the three major European competitions gets a week fully dedicated to it in the schedule under this system: the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The Champions League's opening round therefore no longer clashes with the matches of the other two competitions. That gives it greater space for attention and television coverage, and spreads the matches across more timeslots for viewers around the world.
Why does the tournament need three days?
Media exposure is only half the story. The decision also carries important economic and marketing objectives.
Eighteen matches make up the first round. Spreading them across three days cuts the number of fixtures kicking off at the same time, which means fans can follow more matches live instead of having to choose between them.
Check the fixtures and results of the opening round of the UEFA Champions League
Broadcast rights holders also gain the chance to invest in more available timeslots, something that helps raise viewing figures and maximise the advertising revenues for the clubs and UEFA.
Why does the system not continue throughout the tournament?
The first round may enjoy this privilege, but staging Champions League matches across three days is not a continuous rule throughout the league phase.
After the opener, the tournament returns to its usual rhythm, with fixtures held over Tuesday and Wednesday until the penultimate round of the league phase.
Round two of the league phase takes place on 13 and 14 October, once the international break ends.
Thursday evenings then return to the Europa League and the Europa Conference League. The Champions League's Tuesday-to-Thursday spread remains an exceptional case tied to the idea of the "exclusive week".
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