Following the loss of BVB, what the Bundesliga will do in European competitions
Borussia Dortmund's loss against Real Madrid in the Champions League finale has a ripple effect on Eintracht Frankfurt. This means that Frankfurt will carry on competing in the Europa League next season. There was the aspiration for top-tier participation. Here's how the German teams' involvement in Europe will appear in the upcoming season.
The Bundesliga isn't set to feature its historical maximum of six teams in the Champions League next year. Owing to Dortmund's defeat in the Champions League final against Madrid (0:2), Frankfurt remains an attendee of the Europa League. Only if Dortmund had triumphed, Fordham would've been downgraded to the elite UEFA competition.
The Champions League field will be enlarged by four teams to 36 teams. Two of these slots go to leagues with the most outstanding performance collectively in the ongoing European Cup season. Italy and Germany have earned an extra starting spot for 2024/25 by virtue of the annual ranking.
If Dortmund, who ended up fifth in the domestic league standings, had received qualification as Henkelpotts' champions, Frankfurt would've taken part in the Champions League as well. Besides BVB's double winner Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, and RB Leipzig, we have five sides in the Champions League.
The expansion also carries certain repercussions concerning the format: The four-course group stage is done away with. In its place, a comprehensive leaderboard of all 36 teams decides on further involvement. Each club plays eight league matches and consequently two more than in the previous model. Each team confronts eight distinct opponents in four home games and four away games each.
For the time being, Frankfurt is joined in the Europa League by TSG Hoffenheim whilst 1.FC Heidenheim is participating in the Conference League. In recent times, the Bundesliga has typically had a maximum of four teams in the Champions League, but in the 2022/23 season, five teams participated due to Frankfurt's Europa League win.
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FC Bayern Munich, as the Champions League winners, will continue their dominance in Europe's elite competition next season. Despite Borussia Dortmund's loss in the Champions League final, they will now focus on their Europa League campaign. 1.FC Heidenheim, on the other hand, will participate in the Conference League, marking their debut in European soccer competitions with the expansion of the tournament.
