UEFA has sparked controversy online after unveiling the new Champions League television intro for the 2024-25 football season, with some fans questioning whether the new theme music is a late April Fool’s joke.
It comes as the governing body is set to introduce some of its biggest changes to the iconic competition, with this year’s tournament set to follow a new format, departing from its traditional group stage system and will instead adopt a revamped league phase.
But some fans have not taken well to some of the new changes that are being introduced, with many wondering why UEFA has chosen to alter the hair-raising Champions League theme music that has set the stage for so many iconic European football nights since the 1992-93 season.
The anthem, officially titled ‘Champions League’ has set the scene for many huge European football nights over the years, with players around the world having dreamt of walking out to the theme tune – which is based on George Frideric Handel’s Zadok the Priest.
UEFA has sparked controversy online after unveiling the new Champions League television intro for the 2024-25 football season
It comes as the governing body is set to introduce some of its biggest changes to the iconic competition this season
In the revamped television intro, some of the competition’s top stars, including Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jnr, are all seen playing with the new theme tune being played as the backing music.
While the theme tune does not depart drastically from the original anthem, fans online have noticed that UEFA has adopted a different composition which features new vocals.
While it remains to be seen if the original tune will be played ahead of games, UEFA’s new television intro has been branded as ‘terrible’ by some fans online, who also questioned whether the change ‘was a joke?’
‘Please tell me this is an April Fool’s joke in August, please tell me this isn’t true, please?’ one wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Another wrote: ‘Terrible. In addition, it’s still missing a phrase in Italian and Spanish, the two most important championships of the UCL.’
‘This is horrible,’ another added, while one fan was particularly taken aback, writing: ‘WTF’ with an ‘angry face’ emoji.
The 2023-24 Champions League television introduction
Several players including Erling Haaland (right) also feature in the new television intro
Football fans have been voicing their disapproval of the change to the iconic theme music with some asking: ‘Is this an April Fool’s joke in August?’
This year’s new structure will no longer see teams play three opponents home and away in a league format
‘Thumbs down, the original is epic, this is meh,’ another said, while one wrote: ‘UEFA is trying so hard to make football unwatchable.’
This year’s new structure will no longer see teams play three opponents home and away.
Teams will now compete in a league structure as they bid to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament and will play against eight different opponents, hosting four games at home and four games away.
UEFA say the new format will allow teams to ‘test themselves against a wider range of opponents’, with the top eight sides in the league qualifying automatically for the round of 16 while those teams placing ninth to 24th in the standings will enter a two-leg knockout play-off to determine the final eight places.