2025–26 UEFA Champions League

2025–26 UEFA Champions League
	The Puskás Aréna in Budapest will host the final.
Tournament details
Dates	Qualifying:; 8 July – 27 August 2025; Competition proper:; 16 September 2025 – 30 May 2026
Teams	Competition proper: 36; Total: 83 (from 53 associations)
	← 2024–25 2026–27 →

The 2025–26 UEFA Champions League will be the 71st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 34th season since it was rebranded from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.

The final will be played on 30 May 2026 at Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary.^[1]

Association team allocation

A total of 83 teams from 53 of the 55 UEFA member associations are set to participate in the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League (the exceptions being Liechtenstein which does not organise a domestic league and Russia which is currently suspended). The association ranking based on the UEFA association coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:^[2]

Associations 1–5 each have four teams.
Association 6 has three teams.
Associations 7–15 each have two teams.
Associations 16–55 (except Liechtenstein^{[Note LIE]} and Russia^{[Note RUS]}) each have one team.
The winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League and 2024–25 UEFA Europa League are each given an additional entry if they do not qualify for the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league.
The two associations who obtain the most coefficient points in the 2024–25 season will each have one European Performance Spot into the league phase. The winners of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League cannot fill the European Performance Spots.

Association ranking

For the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2024 UEFA association coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2019–20 to 2023–24.^[3] The table reflects Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA.

Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:

(EPS) – European Performance Spot, the additional berths for associations who finish in the top 2 of the 2024–25 association coefficients
(TH) – Additional berth for UEFA Champions League title holders
(EL) – Additional berth for UEFA Europa League title holders

Association ranking for 2025–26 UEFA Champions League

Rank	Association	Coeff.	Teams
1	England	104.303	4
2	Italy	90.284
3	Spain	89.489
4	Germany	86.624
5	France	66.831
6	Netherlands	61.300	3
7	Portugal	56.316	2
8	Belgium	48.800
9	Turkey	38.600
10	Czech Republic	36.050
11	Scotland	36.050
12	Switzerland	32.975
13	Austria	32.600
14	Norway	31.625
15	Greece	31.525
16	Denmark	31.450	1
17	Israel	31.125
18	Ukraine	28.000
19	Serbia	27.780

Rank	Association	Coeff.	Teams	Notes
20	Croatia	25.525	1
21	Poland	25.375	1
22	Russia	22.965	0	^{[Note RUS]}
23	Cyprus	22.100	1
24	Hungary	21.875
25	Sweden	21.500
26	Romania	21.375
27	Bulgaria	20.375
28	Azerbaijan	20.125
29	Slovakia	19.625
30	Slovenia	13.250
31	Moldova	13.125
32	Kosovo	11.541
33	Kazakhstan	11.500
34	Finland	11.125
35	Republic of Ireland	10.875
36	Armenia	10.625
37	Latvia	10.625
38	Faroe Islands	10.375

Rank	Association	Coeff.	Teams	Notes
39	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10.000	1
40	Liechtenstein	10.000	0	^{[Note LIE]}
41	Iceland	9.583	1
42	Northern Ireland	9.208
43	Luxembourg	8.625
44	Lithuania	8.500
45	Malta	8.250
46	Georgia	7.625
47	Albania	7.375
48	Estonia	7.207
49	Belarus	6.625
50	North Macedonia	6.000
51	Andorra	5.998
52	Wales	5.791
53	Montenegro	5.708
54	Gibraltar	4.957
55	San Marino	1.832

Distribution

		Teams entering in this round	Teams advancing from the previous round
First qualifying round (30 teams)		30 champions from associations 25–55 (except Liechtenstein)^{[Note LIE]}
Second qualifying round (30 teams)	Champions Path (24 teams)	9 champions from associations 15–24 (except Russia)^{[Note RUS]}	15 winners from the first qualifying round
Second qualifying round (30 teams)	League Path (6 teams)	6 runners-up from associations 10–15
Third qualifying round (20 teams)	Champions Path (12 teams)		12 winners from the second qualifying round (Champions Path)
Third qualifying round (20 teams)	League Path (8 teams)	3 runners-up from associations 7–9 1 third-placed team from association 6 1 fourth-placed team from association 5	3 winners from the second qualifying round (League Path)
Play-off round (14 teams)	Champions Path (10 teams)	4 champions from associations 11–14	6 winners from the third qualifying round (Champions Path)
Play-off round (14 teams)	League Path (4 teams)		4 winners from the third qualifying round (League Path)
League stage (36 teams)		UEFA Champions League title holders UEFA Europa League title holders 2 associations with the highest coefficients from the previous season will receive an extra Champions League berth. 10 champions from associations 1–10 6 runners-up from associations 1–6 5 third-placed teams from associations 1–5 4 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–4	5 winners from the play-off round (Champions Path) 2 winners from the play-off round (League Path)

The information here reflects the ongoing suspension of Russia in European football, and so the following changes to the default access list have been made:

The champions of associations 23 (Cyprus) and 24 (Hungary) will enter the second-qualifying round instead of the first-qualifying round (Champions Path).

Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

TH: Champions League title holders
EL: Europa League title holders
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.: League positions of the previous season
Extra: The additional berths given to clubs from the 2 associations with the highest coefficients coefficient points in 2024–25

The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round are divided into Champions Path (CH) and League Path (LP).

Qualified teams for 2025–26 UEFA Champions League
Entry round		Teams
League phase		(TH)	(EL)	(EPS)	(EPS)
		(1st)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(4th)
		(1st)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(4th)
		(1st)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(4th)
		(1st)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(4th)
		(1st)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(1st)
		(2nd)	(1st)	(1st)	(1st)
		(1st)

Play-off round	CH	(1st)	(1st)	(1st)	(1st)

Third qualifying round	LP	(4th)	(3rd)	(2nd)	(2nd)
Third qualifying round	LP	(2nd)

Second qualifying round	CH	(1st)	(1st)	(1st)	(1st)
		(1st)	(1st)	(1st)	(1st)
		(1st)
	LP	(2nd)	(2nd)	(2nd)	(2nd)
	LP	(2nd)	(2nd)

First qualifying round
	CH	Malmö FF (1st)	(1st)	(1st)	(1st)
		(1st)	(1st)	(1st)	(1st)
		Kairat (1st)	KuPS (1st)	Shelbourne (1st)	(1st)
		RFS (1st)	Víkingur (1st)	(1st)	Breiðablik (1st)
		(1st)	(1st)	Žalgiris (1st)	(1st)
		(1st)	(1st)	FCI Levadia (1st)	(1st)
		(1st)	(1st)	(1st)	(1st)
		(1st)	(1st)

^
Liechtenstein (LIE): The seven teams affiliated with the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) all play in the Swiss football league system. The only competition organised by the LFV is the Liechtenstein Football Cup – the winners of which qualify for the UEFA Conference League for the 2025–26 season.
^
Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[4] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.^[5]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.^[6] Compared to past seasons, "exclusive week" will be introduced in which Thursday will also be a matchday.^[7]^[8] All matches in other weeks will be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays apart from the final.

Schedule for 2025–26 UEFA Champions League
Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying	First qualifying round	22 June 2025	8–9 July 2025	15–16 July 2025
	Second qualifying round	23 June 2025	22–23 July 2025	29–30 July 2025
	Third qualifying round	21 July 2025	5–6 August 2025	12 August 2025
Play-offs	Play-off round	4 August 2025	19–20 August 2025	26–27 August 2025
League phase	Matchday 1	28 August 2025	16–18 September 2025
	Matchday 2		30 September – 1 October 2025
	Matchday 3		21–22 October 2025
	Matchday 4		4–5 November 2025
	Matchday 5		25–26 November 2025
	Matchday 6		9–10 December 2025
	Matchday 7		20–21 January 2026
	Matchday 8		28 January 2026
Knockout phase	Knockout phase play-offs	29 January 2026	17–18 February 2026	24–25 February 2026
	Round of 16	27 February 2026	10–11 March 2026	17–18 March 2026
	Quarter-finals		7–8 April 2026	14–15 April 2026
	Semi-finals		28–29 April 2026	5–6 May 2026
	Final		30 May 2026 at Puskás Aréna, Budapest

References

^ "Budapest to host UEFA Champions League Final 2026". Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
^ "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League, 2024/25 Season". Nyon: UEFA. 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
^ "Association coefficients 2023/24". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
^ "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC.co.uk. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
^ "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs. However this could change depending on what happens" (Press release). Nyon: UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
^ "UEFA club competitions cycle 2024–27 ("Post 2024")". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 36/2023. Union of European Football Associations. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
^ Sheldon, Dan. "How the new Champions League format works". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
^ "More national derby games possible when revamped Champions League starts next year". AP News. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.

External links

Official website

[cnote_Note_LIE] 
Liechtenstein (LIE): The seven teams affiliated with the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) all play in the Swiss football league system. The only competition organised by the LFV is the Liechtenstein Football Cup – the winners of which qualify for the UEFA Conference League for the 2025–26 season.

[cnote_Note_RUS] 
Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[4] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.^[5]

[1] "Budapest to host UEFA Champions League Final 2026". Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.

[regulations-2] "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League, 2024/25 Season". Nyon: UEFA. 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.

[country_coefficients-3] "Association coefficients 2023/24". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 1 June 2024.

[4] "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC.co.uk. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

[rus-susp-22/23-5] "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs. However this could change depending on what happens" (Press release). Nyon: UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.

[circular-6] "UEFA club competitions cycle 2024–27 ("Post 2024")". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 36/2023. Union of European Football Associations. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

[7] Sheldon, Dan. "How the new Champions League format works". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 December 2023.

[8] "More national derby games possible when revamped Champions League starts next year". AP News. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.

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[Note LIE]

[Note RUS]

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