Greece Invented Its Own "Champions League"

Starting from the 2025/26 season, the Greek Cup Betsson will be held in a completely new format. Organizers decided to rebuild the tournament based on a system similar to UEFA’s club competitions — the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.

Now the national cup will consist of qualification, a league stage, and playoffs.

How it will work
The league stage will feature 20 clubs:

• 8 teams from the Greek Super League (based on the 2024/25 season results),

• 11 winners of the qualification stage,

• 1 team with a direct spot.

Each club will play 4 matches (2 home, 2 away), with opponents decided by draw. All clubs will appear in a single league table.

Teams finishing 1st–4th will advance directly to the quarterfinals.
Teams ranked 5th–12th will compete in playoffs for the remaining spots.

The Greek Cup winner will earn a place in the 2026/27 Europa League third qualifying round and also in the Greek Super Cup. If the league champion also wins the cup, then the finalist will take the Super Cup spot.

European examples
In most European countries, domestic cups remain in the classic knockout format. However, experiments with group and league stages are becoming more common.

• Turkey: From 2025/26, the Turkish Cup will also change format. There will be 3 groups of 8 teams each, with every club playing 4 matches against different opponents. The top 2 from each group, plus the two best third-placed teams, will advance to the quarterfinals.

• Sweden and Russia: Both countries already have group stages in their domestic cups. Russia also features a “regional path” for lower-league clubs.

• Scotland: From 2025/26, the Challenge Cup (for second- and third-tier clubs and reserve teams) will introduce a league stage. 30 teams will play 6 matches each, after which the best will continue to the playoffs.

A new trend?
Introducing league stages in national cups is a fresh idea in European football. The Greek format looks particularly interesting, as it combines a traditional cup with a mini-championship in a single competition. Winning the trophy will now require consistency across several games, not just knockout matches, which will add intrigue and make the tournament more spectacular.

UEFA first implemented this format in the 2024/25 season across three European competitions. The league stage proved both exciting and unpredictable. The experiment worked — and now it may spread to national cup tournaments as well.