Champions League

The UEFA Champions League is European club football's premier knockout competition, contested annually by the top clubs from UEFA's 55 member associations. It represents the competitive and commercial pinnacle of the European club game, generating over €4 billion in annual revenue. The competition expanded in the 2024-25 season from 32 to 36 clubs, introducing a new league phase before the knockout rounds, which raised the bar for qualifying clubs across the continent.

The 2025-26 final was held at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on 30 May 2026, where Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, securing PSG's second consecutive Champions League title and making them only the second club to retain it in the modern era. In Italy's World Cup debate, FIGC data submitted by president Gravina quantified Serie A's divergence from Champions League standards: ball speed in Serie A averages 7.6 metres per second against 10.4 metres per second in the Champions League, a 37% gap reflecting a collapse in tactical intensity and physical conditioning.

The Champions League is the implicit benchmark against which Italy's structural football crisis is being measured: Serie A has fallen so FAR behind Europe's elite that the gap is now quantifiable in metres per second. Reform proposals emerging after Italy's third consecutive World Cup absence, including reducing Serie A from 20 to 16 clubs and limiting foreign player minutes, are all framed as attempts to close that gap. The competition's ongoing expansion simultaneously raises the bar as more clubs from stronger leagues qualify.