By Victor Kanayo
Organisers of UEFA Champions League will on Thursday August 25, 2022 conduct draw for a new season in Istanbul, Turkey.
Incidentaly, the ancient Istanbul city will host the final of the top clubs’ competition in June 10 2023, the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, the same venue where Liverpool defeated AC Milan on penalties in 2005.
Istanbul was supposed to host the final in 2020 and again in 2021, but on each occasion UEFA moved the game to Portugal due to pandemic-related restrictions.
Another late change was required last season, with Saint-Petersburg being stripped of the final after Russia invaded Ukraine, and Paris instead stepping in to host Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool.
Title holders Real Madrid, English Premier League giants – Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea and the rest of Europe’s elite clubs will immediately after the draw event for the group stage start plotting their route to Champions League glory.
*Group draw expectations*
Talking about the draw details, Real are in Pot One along with the champions of Europe’s other leading leagues in the shape of City, Bayern Munich, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto and Ajax, as well as Europa League winners Frankfurt.
Liverpool will be in Pot Two, meaning there is a possibility that they could get a rematch with Real. Chelsea, winners in 2021, and Tottenham Hotspur are the other English representatives.
Meanwhile, Celtic will be in Pot Four as they return to the Champions League proper for the first time since 2017.
Russian clubs are banned because of the ongoing war, but Ukraine – where a new domestic season kicked off this week – will be represented by Shakhtar Donetsk.
Dynamo Kyiv, who faced Benfica in the play-offs, were hoping to join them but lost 5-0 on aggregate to the two-time winners.
The final places will be decided in this midweek’s play-off round ties, with Bodo/Glimt aiming to become the first Norwegian team to feature in the group stage in 15 years.
What awaits all clubs involved is an intense two months of competition, with a World Cup in November and December forcing Uefa to organise all six matchdays in the space of nine weeks starting on September 6.
There will be an international break in that period too, and the demands on the players will be greater than ever, but the financial rewards will make it worthwhile for the clubs.
*Bumper prize money*
A UEFA circular sent to member associations in July detailed the prize money up for grabs this season, and a team going all the way to victory in the final will rake in around 90 million euros ($90 million).
On top of that will be an added share from the television market pool of each country as well as amounts depending on a team’s ranking based on performances over the last 10 years.
That ranges from 1.137 million euros for the lowest-ranked side taking part – who will come from among the winners of this week’s play-off ties – to over 36 million euros for Madrid, who boast the best coefficient.
As a consequence, the rich will carry on getting richer, and the number of potential Champions League winners may continue to narrow as a result.
*Europa League and Conference draw*
Elsewhere, the draw for the Europa League where clubs including Manchester United, Arsenal and Roma will participate will hold on Friday August 26.
Also, the Europa Conference League draw will follow thereafter same day.
