All You Need to Know: Champions League 2025/26 Format, Dates & Teams

The first edition of the Champions League under its new format's thrilled fans and the excitement's far from over.

As Inter & Paris Saint Germain gear up for the grand final at Allianz Arena later this month, attention's already turning to the 2025 - 2026 season.

When Will the Champions League Draws Take Place?

UEFA will conduct 7 draws across the tournament’s timeline. Here are the key dates:

• First Qualifying Round - Tuesday 17 Jun 2025
• Second Qualifying Round - Wednesday 18 Jun 2025
• Third Qualifying Round - Monday 21 Jul 2025
• Play Off Round - Monday 4 Aug 2025
• League Phase Draw - Thursday 28 Aug 2025
• Round of 16 Play Offs Draw - Friday 30 Jan 2026
• Quarter Finals & Semi Finals Draw - Friday 27 Feb 2026

All draws will be broadcast live on beIN Sports News as well as UEFA’s official YouTube channel.

How the New Format Works?

The revamped format includes 36 team divided into four pots. Each club plays 8 different opponents (4 home & 4 away) Teams will face:

• 2 team from each of the other 3 pot

The top 8 team qualify directly to the Round of 16 while positions 9 to 24 enter two legged play off. Clubs finishing 25th to 36th are eliminated , no Europa league fallback.

Who Qualifies for the 36 Spots?

• 32 team qualify via traditional league placements
• 4 extra spots include:
  • 3rd place team from Europe’s 5th ranked league
  • Additional champion from "Champions Path"
  • 2 club from the top performing leagues of the previous season

Clubs Already Qualified for 2025 - 2026

Several european giants have already secured their spots including:

• Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao (Spain)
• Liverpool (England)
• Inter, Napoli (Italy)
• PSG (France)
• Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
• Slavia Prague, Olympiacos

The 2025 - 26 Champions league promises to be bigger, tougher and more unpredictable than ever before.

Khaled Hegazy |

Editorar, en

Journaliste sportif spécialisé dans la couverture du football et la création de contenu numérique, alliant expérience éditoriale et expertise des médias sociaux.