When will UEFA reveal final Champions League fixture dates?

The UEFA Champions League relied on this structure for more than 20 years, although it changed its format for the first time in 2003 when a 16-team knockout phase replaced the previous group stage.

The allegations had been made by clubs and fans, respectively, and UEFA responded appropriately by implementing the new 36-team league structure. Some of these claims were that there were too many dead rubber encounters and the fans wanted better competition throughout the competition. 

Instead of following the conventional structure, which involved assigning all 32 teams to eight separate groups of four and having them play six group matches, the 36 qualified clubs will play eight games and be placed in a single gigantic table. The first tiebreaker for teams who finish tied on points will be goal difference.

A former player will choose a ball from a bowl, representing one of the nine teams in 4 seeded pots, as the first step of today's hybrid draw. It would have proved impossible to set up balls for each potential eligible opponent since there are currently 36 teams, each of which needs to draw eight opponents. 

Therefore, opponents for each team will now be chosen at random by a supercomputer, with software making sure the computer determines all possible outcomes to prevent a deadlock. We shall have the entire schedule for each of the 36 teams at the conclusion of the entire process, which should take about 90 minutes. A number of awards will also be given out.

Final UEFA Champions fixtures to be announced on Saturday

The result of tonight's draw will, however, let us know which clubs will play each other, but not when. The information will be released at some time on Saturday, August 31, as UEFA needs to investigate security and logistical concerns that also pertain to the additional UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League. 

These concerns include the demands for worldwide television broadcasting. In order to guarantee that every match week features a number of intriguing fixtures, UEFA is going to want to space out important games.