Abstract We evaluate the sporting effects of the seeding system reforms in the Champions League, the major football club tournament organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Before the 2015–2016 season, the teams were seeded in the group stage by their ratings. Starting from the 2015–2016 season, national champions of the Top-7 associations are seeded in the first pot, whereas other teams are seeded by their rating as before. Taking effect from the season 2018–2019, the team’s rating no longer includes 20% of the rating of the association that the team represents. Using the prediction model, we simulate the whole UEFA season and obtain numerical estimates for competitiveness changes in the UEFA tournaments caused by these seeding reforms. We report only marginal changes in tournament metrics that characterize ability of the tournament to select the best teams and competitive balance. Probability of changes in the UEFA national association ranking does not exceed several percent for any association.

中文翻译：

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为欧洲冠军联赛的参加者播种：改革评估

摘要我们评估了欧洲冠军足球联盟（UEFA）举办的主要足球俱乐部锦标赛欧洲冠军联赛种子制度改革的体育效果。在2015–2016赛季之前，各支球队因其评分而进入小组赛。从2015–2016赛季开始，排名前7位的国家冠军获得第一名，而其他车队的得分则与以前相同。从2018-2019赛季开始生效，团队的评分将不再包括团队所代表协会的20％。使用预测模型，我们模拟了整个UEFA赛季，并获得了由这些播种改革导致的UEFA锦标赛竞争力变化的数值估算。我们仅报告锦标赛指标的边际变化，这些变化表征了比赛选择最佳球队和竞争平衡的能力。对于任何协会，UEFA全国协会排名变化的可能性均不超过百分之几。