Champions League organisers have assured clubs and fans there is no possibility of the new AI-assisted draw for the men’s UEFA competition being manipulated tomorrow, with extra security in place to guard against cyber attacks.
The traditional manual draw can no longer be solely relied on to determine fixtures as the competition has expanded from 32 to 36 teams with a more complex format.
It is the biggest transformation to European men’s football in more than three decades since the introduction of a group stage that gave entry to multiple clubs from countries – rather than just their domestic league champions.
The Champions League’s group stage – where eight groups each featured four teams playing each other home and away – is being replaced by a 36-team league phase.
It will feature Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa as last season’s Premier League top four.
Teams will now play eight matches against different opponents, requiring computers using artificial intelligence to determine pairings around some manual drawing of balls at a ceremony in Monaco on Thursday night.
UEFA is not immune to conspiracy theories being floated about its draw procedures, and the use of more technology could lead to more attempts to cast doubt on social media.
“People can trust us,” UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti said when asked about fending off conspiracies.
“Many people didn’t trust us in the past – they thought the ball was hot or cold or god only knows which systems to manipulate the balls.”
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