Champions League draw to include 14 former winners as PSV Eindhoven beat Rangers in playoffs

MONACO: There will be 14 winners of the Champions League, or the old European Cup, in the 32-team group stage draw Thursday after PSV Eindhoven advanced in the qualifying playoffs.

PSV, the European champions in 1988, beat Rangers 5-1 in their playoff second leg Wednesday to complete a 7-3 aggregate score.

Royal Antwerp had not played in the competition since 1957 yet also sealed their place in the draw by winning 2-1 at AEK Athens. The champion of Belgium advanced 3-1 on aggregate.

Copenhagen completed the lineup with a 1-1 draw at home to competition debutant Rakow Częstochowa having already won 1-0 in Poland.

PSV’s single European title means winners of 48 of the 68 editions of Europe’s most prized club title will enter the draw. They include record 14-time champions Real Madrid and defending champions Manchester City, who won their first title in June.

FINAL FORMAT

This Champions League is the 20th and last in the familiar format of eight round robin groups of four teams each, sending the top two into a 16-team knockout bracket.

Next year the Champions League expands to 36 teams, playing eight games instead of six, ranked in a single standings. The top eight will advance direct to the round of 16. Teams ranked No. 9 through 24 go into a knockout playoffs round to decide the other eight places in the last-16.

The final edition in the established format starts Sept. 19 and group-stage games finish Dec. 13. The knockout stage starts in February and reaches the final at Wembley Stadium in London on June 1.

PRIZE MONEY

UEFA has €2 billion ($2.2 billion) prize money for the rest of the competition. Each of the 32 gets a basic €15.64 million ($17.1 million) plus shares of a €600 million ($656