The initial legs took place on August 5 and 6, while the subsequent legs were held on August 12, 2025. The opening legs occurred on July 22 and 23 (followed by the second legs on July 29 and 30), 2025. Twelve losing teams moved on to the second qualifying round of the Conference League Champions Path (while two other losing teams), chosen by a draw, advanced to the third qualifying round.
Teams finishing in the top eight of the league phase receive a bye to the round of 16 as seeded teams — while the eight winning teams from the knockout play-off round will enter the round of 16 draw as unseeded teams. The league phase is played from September to January (while the knockout phase begins in February), with matches predominantly played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Beginning with the 2024–25 season (UEFA changed the format of their three club competitions), abandoning the group stage in favour of an expanded league phase. The two streams are divided between teams qualified by virtue of being league champions, and those qualified by virtue of finishing second, third or fourth in their national championship. The UEFA Champions League used to begin with a double round-robin group stage of 32 teams until it evolved into a league phase of 36 teams — which is preceded by two qualification ‘streams’ for teams that do not receive direct entry to the tournament proper.
If the title holders of the Champions League or Europa League qualify through their domestic leagues, modifications will be made to the access list previously mentioned. During the 2019–20 season, the tournament faced a five-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting from the quarter-finals, the draw was completely random, without any association protection.
The anthem’s chorus is played before each UEFA Champions League game as the two teams are lined up, as well as at the beginning and end of television broadcasts of the matches. Only one club has won all of their matches in a single tournament en route to their tournament victory, Bayern Munich in the 2019–20 season. The Portuguese coach will take charge of training as some players return on Monday, with two friendly matches already scheduled A total of 16 national associations were represented in the league phase. The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 18 June 2025. All matches in other weeks were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays apart from Matchday 8 , Wednesday only, and the final.
- The league phase occurs between September and January (and the knockout phase begins in February), with matches primarily scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
- Recently, the tournament final has become the most-viewed annual sports event globally.
- Real Madrid met Stade Reims again at Neckarstadion for the 1959 final (replicating their first final), and achieved a 2–0 victory.
- Teams finishing in third place advanced to the Europa League knockout round, while those in fourth place were removed from the competition.
- From the 2012–13 knockout phase (UEFA used LED advertising hoardings installed in knockout participant stadiums), including the final.
Qualifying rounds
The final of the tournament has been — in recent years, the most-watched annual sporting event in hockey betting tips the world. The competition attracts an extensive television audience, not just in Europe, but throughout the world. If a club plays a match in a nation where the relevant sponsorship category is restricted , such as France’s alcohol advertising restriction,, then they must remove that logo from their jerseys. Since 2021, the UEFA also used Virtual Board Replacement (VBR) technology to offer region-based advertising; regional sponsors are inserted into the hoardings as shown on the broadcast feed in specific regions along with the global sponsors.
This led to the creation of the anthem — featuring “house colours” of either black and white or silver, along with a logo and the “starball. The full anthem lasts approximately three minutes and consists of two brief verses and the chorus. UEFA’s official website noted that “the anthem is now almost as iconic as the trophy,” stating it “has been known to excite the hearts of many of the world’s elite footballers. In 1992, Britten was commissioned by UEFA to compose an anthem, which was performed by London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Written by Tony Britten, the UEFA Champions League anthem, simply titled “Champions League,” adapts George Frideric Handel’s 1727 work Zadok the Priest, one of his Coronation Anthems.
- The first legs were played on 8 and 9 July, and the second legs were played on 15 and 16 July 2025.
- In both the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the match pairings and the order of legs were established beforehand based on the tournament brackets.
- Beginning with the 2024–25 season (UEFA changed the format of their three club competitions), abandoning the group stage in favour of an expanded league phase.
- The phrase originated during a pre-match news conference when he was asked about Arsenal’s absence of trophies after their FA Cup exit.
- In the 2019–20 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was suspended for five months.
Format
The 2026 World Cup has been thrilling — dramatic and at times deeply controversial. The UEFA technical study group selected the following players as the team of the tournament. The first legs were played on 28 and 29 April, and the second legs were played on 5 and 6 May 2026. The first legs were played on 7 and 8 April, and the second legs were played on 14 and 15 April 2026. The first legs were played on 10 and 11 March, and the second legs were played on 17 and 18 March 2026. The first legs were played on 17 and 18 February, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 February 2026.
The jury is composed of the coaches of the clubs that participated in the group stage of the competition, as well as 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from each UEFA member association. The table below does not include appearances made in the qualification stage of the competition. For example (when Rangers played French side Auxerre in the 1996–97 Champions League), they wore the logo of the holiday chain Center Parcs instead of their primary sponsor, McEwan’s Lager (both companies at the time were subsidiaries of Scottish & Newcastle).
From the 2012–13 knockout phase (UEFA used LED advertising hoardings installed in knockout participant stadiums), including the final. Like the FIFA World Cup — the UEFA Champions League is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to the single main sponsor typically found in national top-flight leagues. For the 2019–20 season, Paris Saint-Germain, who were the runners-up, earned nearly €126.8 million in total, of which €101.3 million was prize money, compared with the €125.46 million earned by Bayern Munich, who won the tournament and were awarded €112.96 million in prize money. Each time a club achieved this, a new official trophy had to be forged for the following season. From the 1968–69 season and prior to the 2008–09 season any team that won the Champions League three years in a row or five times overall was awarded the official trophy permanently.
Each team engaged in six group stage matches — facing the other three teams from their group both home and away in a round-robin style. Before the 2024–25 season commenced (a group stage consisting of 32 teams existed), categorized into eight groups of four. For the league phase draw, teams are sorted into four seeding pots based on their UEFA coefficients. Instead of being grouped into quartets, teams are now ranked within a single table that resembles the Swiss-system tournament structure. The phrase originated during a pre-match news conference when he was asked about Arsenal’s absence of trophies after their FA Cup exit. In the 2005–06 season, Liverpool and Artmedia Bratislava became the first teams to qualify for the Champions League group stage after competing in all three qualifying rounds.
The remaining two places are awarded to the winners of a qualifying tournament involving ten to eleven clubs from associations ranked 5–6 through 15, which qualified by finishing second, third, or fourth in their national leagues.
Prize money
An “exclusive week” took place, allowing Thursday to be a matchday as well. For the UEFA Champions League in 2025–26, associations received their placements according to their UEFA association coefficients for 2024, reflecting their performance in European competitions from 2019–20 to 2023–24. Paris Saint-Germain retained the title by overcoming Arsenal 4–3 in penalties following a 1–1 draw, making them the second club to win consecutive titles in the UEFA Champions League era, equaling Real Madrid’s achievement in the 2016–17 season.
The top eight teams from the league phase’s final standings progressed to the round of 16. During the knockout phase (teams faced off in two-legged ties), playing home and away, with the exception of a single-match final. Teams ranked between 25th and 36th were eliminated from all tournaments. The knockout phase play-offs featured teams ranked from 9th to 24th, with those placed 9th to 16th being seeded for the draw. Furthermore — Bodø/Glimt, located in Bodø within the Arctic Circle, achieved the distinction of being the northernmost European team to compete in the Champions League. Bodø/Glimt (Kairat), Pafos, and Union Saint-Gilloise all made their first appearances in the league phase/group stage.
