FMF Champions' League re-organisation
FMF Champions' League re-organisation
Since the re-formatting of the FMF Champions' League and the regional Champions' Leagues ahead of the 2021-22 season, we at the FMF have seen an increased interest in all Champions' League tournaments, with more nations now entering than ever before (except for the period where it was mandatory to enter), which has led to much more exciting competitions, and many participants now regularly simming their own leagues.
However, the current format of the FMF Champions' League has its limitations. As such, we have decided to restructure the 2023-24 edition as a test run.
To provide a greater number of nations with the chance of entering, we will be re-introducing qualification rounds, with a Preliminary and then a Qualifying round which will both be held in September. Now, just 25 teams; the five Champions' League winners, the champions of the top 14 ranked leagues and the runners-up of the top 6 ranked leagues, will receive an automatic place in the group stage.
The qualifying process will be split into a Champions Path and a League Path.
In the Champions Path, which will only be open to teams which win their domestic league and will award four spots in the group stage, leagues ranked 15-22 will receive an entry, with leagues ranked 21-22 entering in the Preliminary Round and those ranked 15-20 entering in the Qualifying Round. Additionally, two teams will receive wild card places in the Preliminary Round; champions of two leagues who top the new One Year Ranking that have not already been awarded a place in the FMF Champions' League, in an attempt to speed up the waiting time for new leagues to send an entrant into the FMF CL.
In the League Path, for which three group stage places will be awarded, the third placed teams of the best three ranked leagues will compete, alongside the runners-up from leagues ranked 7-11. No nation will be eligible to send more than three entrants into the FMF CL, so any nation already receiving two spots that gains a CL winner, will pass on their third league spot onto the next best ranked team.
We hope that these changes will allow a greater variety of nations to compete in the FMF CL, with this now garunteeing 24 nations to participate in the process, up from the minimum of 17 from recent seasons, whilst also allowing more clubs from the established leagues a chance to play in the tournament!
Furthermore, any team that fails to reach the Group Stage will drop down into their respective Confederational Champions' League, ensuring that they do not miss out on international Group Stage football!
We wish all participating teams the best of luck in the 2023-24 season!
However, the current format of the FMF Champions' League has its limitations. As such, we have decided to restructure the 2023-24 edition as a test run.
To provide a greater number of nations with the chance of entering, we will be re-introducing qualification rounds, with a Preliminary and then a Qualifying round which will both be held in September. Now, just 25 teams; the five Champions' League winners, the champions of the top 14 ranked leagues and the runners-up of the top 6 ranked leagues, will receive an automatic place in the group stage.
The qualifying process will be split into a Champions Path and a League Path.
In the Champions Path, which will only be open to teams which win their domestic league and will award four spots in the group stage, leagues ranked 15-22 will receive an entry, with leagues ranked 21-22 entering in the Preliminary Round and those ranked 15-20 entering in the Qualifying Round. Additionally, two teams will receive wild card places in the Preliminary Round; champions of two leagues who top the new One Year Ranking that have not already been awarded a place in the FMF Champions' League, in an attempt to speed up the waiting time for new leagues to send an entrant into the FMF CL.
In the League Path, for which three group stage places will be awarded, the third placed teams of the best three ranked leagues will compete, alongside the runners-up from leagues ranked 7-11. No nation will be eligible to send more than three entrants into the FMF CL, so any nation already receiving two spots that gains a CL winner, will pass on their third league spot onto the next best ranked team.
We hope that these changes will allow a greater variety of nations to compete in the FMF CL, with this now garunteeing 24 nations to participate in the process, up from the minimum of 17 from recent seasons, whilst also allowing more clubs from the established leagues a chance to play in the tournament!
Furthermore, any team that fails to reach the Group Stage will drop down into their respective Confederational Champions' League, ensuring that they do not miss out on international Group Stage football!
We wish all participating teams the best of luck in the 2023-24 season!