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Sparta Prague made history last night when they defeated Swedish team Malmö 2-0 to guarantee their spot in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for the very first time since the 2005–06 campaign. Though Sparta has a long history of participating in the group stage of the Champions League, its most recent trip was almost twenty years ago. The "Reds" have since made multiple attempts to move on via the qualifications, but have been unsuccessful each time.
Sparta used a well-known Mr. Bean meme to celebrate their accomplishment of making it back into the Champions League through their X page. In the meme, Shamrock Rovers, FCSB, as well as Malmo FF—the teams Sparta overcame in the qualifiers—appear to be Mr. Bean's UEFA Champions League tickets as he boards an aircraft. Then he walks into the VIP area and greets the best clubs in Europe.
UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Draw set to be held on 29th August
The much-awaited Champions League 2024–25 draw is scheduled for Thursday, August 29, in Monaco. The competition will use a completely new structure from the next edition. The 36-team league phase structure will be used for the esteemed UEFA competition. The governing board has chosen a league table over a group stage, going with a Swiss format.
The 32-team group-stage format that UEFA had used for 21 seasons has been abandoned. Under this new format, which consists of a single-standings league with all 36 clubs competing in eight matches versus eight different opponents, the top eight will automatically advance to the knockout stages, while teams ranked ninth to 24th will compete in the knockout playoffs, and teams ranked 25th or higher will be eliminated from the competition. Each group included matches with each team facing their competitors in home as well as away games.
In India, the Sony Sports Network will air the UEFA Champions League 2024–25 Draw. Sony Liv App will showcase the draw on OTT.