UEFA Champions League
Heineken scores big in Owerri with ‘Cheers to All Fans’ campaign
There was real excitement in the air at the Chilis Bar, Owerri on Tuesday when Real Madrid sealed their place in the semi-final stage of the UEFA Champions League.
The Heartland State was agog with the Heineken ‘Cheers to All Fans’ Campaign’ as the Premium beer brand was on hand to make the Champions League night a memorable one for the scores of fans and loyal consumers that made it to the exquisite Chilis Bar, Owerri.
With Real Madrid coming into the second-leg tie with a two-goal advantage, the odds were readily stalked against Chelsea.
However, smart fans from all walks of life who found their way to the Chilis Bar were glad about their decision as they enjoyed an unforgettable viewing experience with the Premium beer brand from the stable of Nigerian Breweries PLC.
Chelsea fans and Real Madrid supporters as well as consumers of Heineken thronged the Chilis Bar where they soaked in the fun even after the 90 minutes of action was over at Stamford Bridge.
After a barren first half, Rodrygo’s brace in the 58th and 80th minutes ensured the reigning champions ease their way to the last four without much sweat.
Despite the fans’ mix of fulfilment and disappointment at the end of the regulation time, they had a night they would continue to relish courtesy of Heineken’s ‘Cheers to All Fans Campaign’
Top entertainer, DJ Bliss and hype man, Mr Barango, treated the fans to the best of trending Nigerian and international hit songs all night as fans who were on the edge of their seats while the game lasted soon switched into the party mood.
DJ Bliss the crowd controller kept the fans of both teams and consumers of Heineken’s mouth agape throughout with different tunes he made available before, at halftime and after the explosive tie.
Though Real Madrid fans went home happier with their resounding victory, Chelsea fans were consoled with the improved performance by Frank Lampard’s men.
In the end, everyone was a winner with plenty of Heineken merchandise freely given out to the fans and loyal consumers.
One of the winners, Ikenna Chilaka, a Chelsea fan who got the prediction of the half time and full-time results got a classic power bank, bag, T-shirt, and face cap among others thumbed up Heineken.
“It was a time filled with mixed feeling emotions for me but Heineken wiped that feeling of sadness with the gifts I won.
“I so much had fun and the fact that fans, friends, and families were able to come together to watch and support their clubs while sharing bottles of Heineken and still having fun while answering questions, winning branded gifts, and the DJ’s wonderful renditions gave us something to relish”.
Some of the other winners on the night were Ngozi Enwerem, Dayo Arowolo (water bottle), Anthony Nsofor, Ijeoma Ogbuibe, Chuks Henry (faze cap), Dica Divine (Speaker, T-Shirt, Water bottle) and many more.
After the explosive night in Owerri, Heineken’s Cheers to All Fans Campaign will be taking Warri and Abuja by storm when the attention shifts to the second-leg semi-final games.
Up next are mouth-watering semi-final pairings Milan derby between AC Milan and city rival, Inter Milan compete for a place in the final match and will meet the winner of Real Madrid and Manchester City which is a repeat of last season’s semi-final paring that saw ‘Whites’ went all the way to win the cup
The climax of the campaign, the Champions League final in Lagos, promises to be an unforgettable experience for fans.
UEFA Champions League
Real Madrid to play Liverpool, Milan and Dortmund in revamped Champions League
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/uefa_champions_league_202425_league_phase_draw_1_.jpeg)
Reigning champions Real Madrid will play Borussia Dortmund in the league phase of the Champions League in what will be a repeat of last season’s final after the draw for the new-look 36-team tournament was held on Thursday.
Clubs will no longer playing three teams home and away in the group phase, but will face eight different teams with four games at home and four away which were picked with the help of a computer.
With clubs facing two teams each from the four pots, the draw threw up plenty of mouth-watering fixtures with Real also set to play former champions Liverpool and AC Milan in the league phase.
Premier League champions Manchester City will face Inter Milan — a repeat of the 2023 final — Paris St Germain and Juventus while Bayern Munich are up against PSG and Barcelona among others.
Apart from Real, Liverpool also take on RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan.
New Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has his hands full with the Spanish team set to face the two German giants — his former club Bayern Munich and Dortmund.
The draw was conducted with the help of the competition’s all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo and former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who were both given special awards by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
-Reuters
UEFA Champions League
New UEFA Champions League format promises more of prize money
![Mikel Obi stars at Champions League draw as Arsenal face Bayern Munich](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Mikel-Obi-stars-at-Champions-League-draw-as-Arsenal-face.jpg)
The new Champions League format this season will see more teams playing more games for more prize money.
On Thursday, UEFA makes the draw in Monaco for the match schedule of the new single-standings league phase that replaces the traditional group stage.
The first new Champions League format since 2003 promises more of almost everything that Europe’s wealthiest and most influential clubs wanted from UEFA.
There are four more places in a 36-team lineup; at least eight games each instead of six; Champions League games scheduled in January for the first time; a prize money rise of at least 25% to a minimum 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion).
There also was more evidence, at UEFA’s European Championship this summer, that constant expansion of international competitions is leaving players tired and unable to perform at their best year-round.
The new league phase in European club soccer’s marquee event will have 144 total games compared to 96 in the group stage last season.
The “key aims,” UEFA said, is to “improve competitive balance and sporting interest and in the process increase the number of meaningful matches — matches with something at stake for both sides — throughout the competition.”
In the eighth and final round, all 36 teams play on the same Jan. 29 evening to finalize the standings which will decide which eight teams advance directly to the round of 16 — and with what seedings in a tennis-like knockout bracket — as well as which 16 go into a new knockout playoff round in February, and which 12 are eliminated.
“We simulated that qualification should be possible with an average of 7.6 points, which means two victories and two draws,” said UEFA’s head of competitions strategy, Stéphane Anselmo.
Why change such a successful competition?
Money, mostly, though that’s not the only reason.
The Champions League in Europe has for the past 32 years showcased the highest quality play in world soccer. It let UEFA steer billions of euros (dollars) of prize money to clubs who pay the highest transfer fees and salaries.
Still, influential officials at the European Club Association (ECA) got bored of the group stage, saying it was too repetitive and lacked drama. They wanted more games against stronger opponents that would be more valued by broadcasters, viewers and new fans worldwide. Their leverage over UEFA was potentially launching their own breakaway competition.
The road to agreeing the format was rocky. A controversial first proposal in 2019, favoring storied clubs, was stopped by a backlash from mid-ranked clubs and domestic leagues.
There was intense turmoil sparked by the failed Super League launch in April 2021 by most of the same club officials who negotiated Champions League reform with UEFA.
Final format approval came in May 2022 — when Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus were exiled from the talks and still pursued UEFA in court — and it was broadly what the rebel Super League clubs had negotiated.
What is the new format?
Out goes the group-stage format played for 21 seasons where 32 teams were put into eight groups of four teams from a seeded draw. The top two in each group advanced to the round of 16. Groups gave each team six games from September into December, playing each rival once at home and once away.
In comes a single-standings league — 36 teams each playing eight games against eight different opponents through January.
The top eight in the standings go direct to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into the knockout playoffs in February. The bottom 12 teams are eliminated.
In the playoffs, teams ranked Nos. 9-16 are seeded in the draw to play second legs at home against unseeded teams Nos. 17-24.
Who gets the four extra places?
Two for countries whose teams collectively had the best record in UEFA club competitions in the previous season. That was Italy and Germany so the fifth-placed teams in Serie A and the Bundesliga qualified: Bologna and Borussia Dortmund.
The fifth-ranked national league (based on five years of results in UEFA club competitions) gets a third direct entry. That is currently France and Brest was third in Ligue 1.
An extra place goes to the qualifying rounds path for national champions from lower-ranked countries. They now play for five total qualifying places instead of four last season.
How will the draw be done?
The 36 teams come out of four seeding pots graded by each team’s “UEFA club coefficient” – its ranking by results in five years of European competitions. The top-seeded pot contains recent Champions League winners and beaten finalists, plus Leipzig and Barcelona.
When a team’s ball is drawn, its slate of eight opponents — two from each seeding pot, one to play at home and one away — will be allocated by a software program and displayed within seconds.
Match dates will be confirmed Saturday, to avoid city clashes with Europa League and Conference League games being drawn Friday in Monaco. Those lower-tier competitions also are a 36-team single-standings league. Conference League teams play just six games.
Billion-dollar prize money fund
Winning the Champions League title in 2023 earned Manchester City 135 million euros ($151 million) from UEFA. This season’s winner can reach 150 million euros ($168 million), with total competition revenue boosted by selling 189 total games instead of 125.
Commercial strategy is managed by a UEFA-ECA joint venture, and new sponsors for the Champions League include a cryptocurrency trading platform and a betting site.
Each of the 36 teams gets a basic 18.6 million euros ($20.8 million), then 2.1 million euros ($2.35 million) for each game won and 700,000 euros ($782,000) per draw.
Each place in the standings is worth more money with shares of 275,000 euros ($307,000) per place: 36 shares, or 9.9 million euros ($11 million), goes to the team finishing top in January and a single share to the last-place team.
Bonuses escalate from 11 million euros ($12.3 million) per team for advancing to each knockout round.
Another prize fund of 853 million euros ($953 million) is allocated based on teams’ historical record in UEFA competitions and the value of national and global broadcast deals.
-AP
UEFA Champions League
UEFA to honour Ronaldo on Thursday
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/cristiano_ronaldo_with_ucl_trophy_photo.jpeg)
Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time leading goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League, will be honoured with a special award from UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin in recognition of his remarkable legacy in the world’s most prestigious competition.
The honour will be bestowed on Thursday at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco during the inaugural 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 36-team league phase draw ceremony.
Ronaldo’s achievements in Europe’s premier club competition – accomplished over the course of more than 18 years – will be recognised during the inaugural 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 36-team league phase draw ceremony, which will take place on Thursday 29 August at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
The former Sporting Clube de Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward has scored 140 Champions League goals in 183 appearances. He is 11 goals clear of Lionel Messi and 46 ahead of third-placed Robert Lewandowski at the top of the scoring charts
-
TRANSFER MARKET3 days ago
Points of Interest as Napoli’s coach apologises to Victor Osimhen
-
Badminton1 week ago
American beats Nigeria’s Segun Obasanjo
-
TRANSFER MARKET1 week ago
Transfer market still bubbling as Chelsea agents lands in Napoli for Osimhen
-
TRANSFER MARKET1 week ago
BREAKING! Osimhen is left stranded! Future remains uncertain
-
TRANSFER MARKET5 days ago
Lukaku pays respect to Osimhen
-
Nigerian Football1 week ago
As in 1974 , 1995 and 2005 another coach, Labbadia disappears from Nigeria’s national team job
-
PARALYMPICS5 days ago
How Mikano powered Eniola to Nigeria’s first medal at Paris 2024
-
AFCON1 week ago
Interim Commander, Eguavoen opens up on his plans for Super Eagles