The first legs were played on 5 and 6 August, and the second legs were played hockey betting tips on 12 August 2025. The first legs were played on 22 and 23 July — and the second legs were played on 29 and 30 July 2025. Twelve of the losing teams were transferred to the Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round, and the other two losing teams , selected via a draw, were transferred to the Conference League Champions Path 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.

Changes will be made to the access list above if the Champions League or Europa League title holders qualify for the tournament via their domestic leagues. In the 2019–20 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was suspended for five months. From the quarter-finals onwards, the draw was entirely random, without 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 is played from September to January (while the knockout phase begins in February), with matches predominantly played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
• In recent years, the most-watched annual sporting event in the world has been the tournament final.
• In a rematch of the first final — Real Madrid faced Stade Reims at the Neckarstadion for the 1959 final, and won 2–0.
• The third-placed teams entered the Europa League’s knockout round and the fourth-placed teams were eliminated from the competition.
• From the 2012–13 knockout phase, UEFA used LED advertising hoardings installed in knockout participant stadiums, including the final.

Rounds for qualification

The final of the tournament has been — in recent years, the most-watched annual sporting event in 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 resulted in the anthem («house colours» of black and white or silver and a logo), and the «starball». The complete anthem is about three minutes long, and has two short verses and the chorus. Stating that «the anthem is now almost as iconic as the trophy», UEFA’s official website adds it is «known to set the hearts of many of the world’s top footballers aflutter». UEFA commissioned Britten in 1992 to arrange an anthem — and the piece was performed by London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. The UEFA Champions League anthem, officially titled simply as «Champions League», was written by Tony Britten, and is an adaptation of George Frideric Handel’s 1727 anthem 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 the quarter-finals and semi-finals, both the exact match pairings and order of legs were predetermined based on the tournament bracket.
• 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.
• After a pre-match conference where he was asked about Arsenal’s failure to secure a trophy following their exit from the FA Cup, the phrase was created.
• In the 2019–20 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was suspended for five months.

Format

The 2026 World Cup has showcased thrilling and dramatic moments, occasionally stirring significant controversy. The players chosen as the tournament’s team were selected by the UEFA technical study group. The matches for the first legs occurred on April 28 and 29 (followed by the second legs on May 5 and 6), 2026. Matches for the first legs were held on April 7 and 8 (with the second legs taking place on April 14 and 15), 2026. On March 10 and 11, the first legs were conducted, whereas the second legs were on March 17 and 18, 2026. The first legs took place on February 17 and 18 (while the second legs were held on February 24 and 25), 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 played six group stage games, meeting the other three teams in its group home and away in a round-robin format. Prior to the 2024–25 season, there was a group stage of 32 teams, divided into eight groups of four. For the draw of the league phase, teams are divided into four seeding pots according to their UEFA coefficient. Teams are no longer divided into groups of four teams each but are ranked in a single table resembling the Swiss-system tournament format. The phrase was coined after a pre-match conference when he was questioned about Arsenal’s lack of a trophy after exiting the FA Cup. In 2005–06, Liverpool and Artmedia Bratislava became the first teams to reach the Champions League group stage after playing in all three qualifying rounds.

Winners of a three-round qualifying tournament featuring ten to eleven clubs from associations ranked 5–6 through 15 are awarded the other two spots (qualifying by finishing in second), third, or fourth in their national leagues. This was the inaugural participation of a Norwegian team in the competition’s main phase since the 2007–08 season — and it also marked the first season without any Ukrainian teams qualifying for the group stage or league phase since 2005–06. Although only national league champions from many European leagues qualify for the competition (the top five leagues by coefficient automatically provide four teams), with the potential for more spots based on last season’s performance. The tournament is recognized as one of the most prestigious football events globally, being the top club competition in European football, featuring national league champions and, in some nations, one or more runners-up from their associations.

Prize money

One «exclusive week» was held in which Thursday was also a matchday. For the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League — the associations were allocated places according to their 2024 UEFA association coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2019–20 to 2023–24. Paris Saint-Germain successfully defended the title, defeating Arsenal 4–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, to become the second club to win back-to-back titles in the UEFA Champions League era, matching Real Madrid’s feat in the 2016–17 edition.

The round of 16 was entered by the top eight teams from the league phase’s final standings. During the knockout phase, teams faced each other over two legs using a home-and-away format, with the exception of the single-match final. All competitions were eliminated for teams ranked between 25th and 36th. Teams ranked from 9th to 24th participated in the knockout phase play-offs, while those from 9th to 16th were seeded for the draw. Furthermore (Bodø/Glimt), hailing from Bodø in the Arctic Circle, achieved the distinction of being the northernmost European team to compete in the Champions League. The league phase/group stage welcomed debut appearances from Bodø/Glimt (Kairat), Pafos, and Union Saint-Gilloise.