Africa-Press – Kenya. The UEFA Champions League returns for the 2025/26 season with 36 teams set to battle for Europe’s most prestigious club football trophy.
All participating clubs will discover their opponents when the official draw for the League Phase takes place on Thursday, August 28, 2025, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
The event will be streamed live on the UEFA website from 5:00 p.m. UK time.
Champions League Format
This season continues with UEFA’s revamped competition format:
Each team will play eight matches in the League Phase (four at home and four away).
The top eight teams will advance directly to the Round of 16.
Teams finishing 9th to 24th will compete in a knockout play-off round to secure a place in the Round of 16.
The bottom eight teams (25th–36th) will be eliminated from the competition.
Losers of the knockout play-offs will drop into the UEFA Europa League.
Big Names Await the Draw
Some of Europe’s elite clubs will learn their path to glory on Thursday, including Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.
Last season, Arsenal impressed in the League Phase with six victories out of eight, finishing third to book a direct place in the Round of 16.
In the final, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Inter Milan in a five-goal thriller to lift the 2024/25 Champions League trophy.
Draw Regulations
Clubs from the same domestic league cannot face each other during the League Phase.
The draw will be conducted using four pots, with teams seeded according to their UEFA coefficient ranking.
Champions League 2025/26 Draw Pots
Pot 1: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt (more teams to be added)
Pot 3: Ajax, Napoli, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague, Marseille, Bodo/Glimt
Pot 4: Newcastle United, Pafos, Athletic Club, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Kairat Almaty
Football fans across the world will be eagerly awaiting the draw as Europe’s biggest clubs prepare for another thrilling Champions League season.
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