The 2027-2028 Champions League starts with a big match in which the reigning champion plays a home match. This is the first time the competition will start with a standalone match, UEFA said on Monday.
Currently, the competition phase of the tournament starts with matches on matchday one, spread evenly over three days, but the change means that only one match will take place on the first Tuesday, giving the title holder maximum coverage.
The rest of the matches will then take place on Wednesday and Thursday.
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The move is similar to how the NFL season works in the United States, where the defending champions since 2004 typically start the next campaign with a home game, usually on the Thursday evening of the opening weekend.
UEFA also launched the tender process for the media rights for its club competitions, starting from the 2027-2028 season, with a simultaneous tender in Europe’s five largest media markets: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain.
Published on October 14, 2025
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