Why does the Champions League have teams in it who are not champions?

Answer 1

It is designed to have some of the top teams in Europe. The quality of football in some countries is a lot lower, so the best teams in those countries would not be as competitive. So in order to have a more competitive competition, it is open to more than just champions, but also teams that would have finished high in their leagues. So some countries are allocated more than one place in the competition. Other league winners can still qualify by playing some of the other teams who would also have lower standards.