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2024–25 UEFA Champions League

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2024–25 UEFA Champions League
The Allianz Arena in Munich will host the final.
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
9 July – 28 August 2024
Competition proper:
17 September 2024 – 31 May 2025
TeamsCompetition proper: 36
Total: 81 (from 53 associations)

The 2024–25 UEFA Champions League is the 70th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 33rd season since it was rebranded from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.[1] This will be the first season under a new format, where in the league phase each team plays eight games against different opponents, but all 36 teams are ranked in a joint group.[2][3]

The final will be played on 31 May 2025 at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.[4] The winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League will automatically qualify for the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League league phase, the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup, and earn the right to play against the winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League in the 2025 UEFA Super Cup.

Real Madrid are the defending champions, having won their record-extending 15th title last season.

Association team allocation

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A total of 81 teams from 53 of the 55 UEFA member associations are set to participate in the 2024–25 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:[5]

  • 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 2023–24 UEFA Champions League and 2023–24 UEFA Europa League are each given an additional entry if they do not qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league.
  • The two associations who obtain the most coefficient points in the 2023–24 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

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For the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2023 UEFA association coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2018–19 to 2022–23.[6] 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 finished in the top 2 of the 2023–24 association coefficients
  • (TH) – Additional berth for UEFA Champions League title holders
  • (EL) – Additional berth for UEFA Europa League title holders
Association ranking for 2024–25 UEFA Champions League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1  England 109.570 4
2  Spain 92.998
3  Germany 82.481 +1 (EPS)
4  Italy 81.926 +1 (EPS)
5  France 61.164
6  Netherlands 59.900 3
7  Portugal 56.216 2
8  Belgium 42.200
9  Scotland 36.400
10  Austria 34.000
11  Serbia 32.375
12  Turkey 32.100
13  Switzerland 31.675
14  Ukraine 29.500
15  Czech Republic 29.050
16  Norway 29.000 1
17  Denmark 27.825
18  Russia 26.215 0 [Note RUS]
19  Croatia 25.400 1
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20  Greece 25.225 1
21  Israel 25.000
22  Cyprus 24.475
23  Sweden 23.750
24  Poland 20.750
25  Hungary 20.625
26  Romania 20.500
27  Bulgaria 20.000
28  Slovakia 19.750
29  Azerbaijan 16.625
30  Kazakhstan 12.625
31  Slovenia 12.500
32  Moldova 12.250
33  Kosovo 11.041
34  Liechtenstein 11.000 0 [Note LIE]
35  Latvia 10.625 1
36  Republic of Ireland 10.375
37  Finland 10.200
38  Lithuania 10.000
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
39  Armenia 9.875 1
40  Belarus 9.875
41  Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.750
42  Luxembourg 9.000
43  Faroe Islands 8.750
44  Northern Ireland 8.583
45  Malta 8.250
46  Georgia 8.000
47  Estonia 7.582
48  Iceland 7.250
49  Albania 6.250
50  Wales 6.166
51  Gibraltar 5.791
52  North Macedonia 5.500
53  Andorra 5.165
54  Montenegro 4.750
55  San Marino 1.999

Distribution

[edit]
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from the previous round
First qualifying round
(28 teams)
  • 28 champions from associations 26–28 and 30–55 (except Liechtenstein)[Note LIE]
Second qualifying round
(28 teams)
Champions path
(24 teams)
  • 8 champions from associations 15–18 (except Russia)[Note RUS] and 20–24
  • 2 champions from associations 25 and 29 as the teams with highest club coefficients, originally from the first qualifying round
  • 14 winners from the first qualifying round
League path
(4 teams)
  • 4 runners-up from associations 11–14
Third qualifying round
(20 teams)
Champions path
(12 teams)
  • 12 winners from the second qualifying round (champions path)
League path
(8 teams)
  • 2 runners-up from associations 8–9
  • 1 third-placed team from association 6
  • 1 fourth-placed team from association 5
  • 2 runners-up from associations 10 and 15 as the teams with highest club coefficients, originally from the second qualifying round league path
  • 2 winners from the second qualifying round (league path)
Play-off round
(14 teams)
Champions path
(10 teams)
  • 3 champions from associations 11–13
  • 1 champion from association 19 as the team with highest club coefficient, originally from the second qualifying round champions path
  • 6 winners from the third qualifying round (champions path)
League path
(4 teams)
  • 4 winners from the third qualifying round (league path)
League phase
(36 teams)
  • 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
  • 1 champion from association 14 as the team with the highest club coefficient, originally from the play-off round of the champions path
  • 1 runner-up from association 7 as the team with the highest club coefficient, originally from the third qualifying round of the league path
  • 2 associations (Italy and Germany) with the highest coefficients from the previous season each received an extra berth
  • 5 winners from the play-off round (champions path)
  • 2 winners from the play-off round (league path)
Preliminary knockout round
(16 teams)
  • 16 teams ranked 9-24 from the League phase
Knockout phase
(16 teams)
  • 8 teams ranked 1-8 from the League phase
  • 8 winners from the Preliminary knockout round

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 (Sweden) and 24 (Poland) will enter the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round (champions path).

As the Champions League title holders (Real Madrid) qualified via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the following changes to the default access list have been made:

  • Shakhtar Donetsk as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the champions path of the qualifying phase or play-off round, will enter the league phase instead of the champions path play-off round.
  • Dinamo Zagreb, as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the champions path second qualifying round, will enter the champions path play-off round.
  • Ferencváros and Qarabağ, as the two clubs with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the champions path first qualifying round, will enter the champions path second qualifying round.

As the Europa League title holders (Atalanta) qualified via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the following changes to the default access list have been made:

  • Benfica, as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered at any stage of the qualifying phase or play-off round, will enter the league phase instead of the league path third qualifying round.
  • Slavia Prague and Red Bull Salzburg, as the two clubs with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the league path second qualifying round, will enter the third qualifying round.

Teams

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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
  • EPS: The European Performance Spots given to clubs from the 2 associations with the highest coefficient points in 2023–24

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

Qualified teams for 2024–25 UEFA Champions League
Entry round Teams
League phase Spain Real Madrid (1st)TH Italy Atalanta (4th)EL England Manchester City (1st) England Arsenal (2nd)
England Liverpool (3rd) England Aston Villa (4th) Spain Barcelona (2nd) Spain Girona (3rd)
Spain Atlético Madrid (4th) Germany Bayer Leverkusen (1st) Germany VfB Stuttgart (2nd) Germany Bayern Munich (3rd)
Germany RB Leipzig (4th) Germany Borussia Dortmund (5th)EPS Italy Inter Milan (1st) Italy AC Milan (2nd)
Italy Juventus (3rd) Italy Bologna (5th)EPS France Paris Saint-Germain (1st) France Monaco (2nd)
France Brest (3rd) Netherlands PSV Eindhoven (1st) Netherlands Feyenoord (2nd) Portugal Sporting CP (1st)
Portugal Benfica (2nd) Belgium Club Brugge (1st) Scotland Celtic (1st) Austria Sturm Graz (1st)
Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk (1st)
Play-off round CH Serbia Red Star Belgrade (1st) Turkey Galatasaray (1st) Switzerland Young Boys (1st) Croatia Dinamo Zagreb (1st)
Third qualifying round LP France Lille (4th) Netherlands Twente (3rd) Belgium Union SG (2nd) Scotland Rangers (2nd)
Austria Red Bull Salzburg (2nd) Czech Republic Slavia Prague (2nd)
Second qualifying round CH Czech Republic Sparta Prague (1st) Norway Bodø/Glimt (1st) Denmark Midtjylland (1st) Greece PAOK (1st)
Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (1st) Cyprus APOEL (1st) Sweden Malmö FF (1st) Poland Jagiellonia Białystok (1st)
Hungary Ferencváros (1st) Azerbaijan Qarabağ (1st)
LP Serbia Partizan (2nd) Turkey Fenerbahçe (2nd) Switzerland Lugano (2nd) Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv (2nd)
First qualifying round CH Romania FCSB (1st) Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad (1st) Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (1st) Kazakhstan Ordabasy (1st)
Slovenia Celje (1st) Moldova Petrocub Hîncești (1st) Kosovo Ballkani (1st) Latvia RFS (1st)
Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers (1st) Finland HJK (1st) Lithuania Panevėžys (1st) Armenia Pyunik (1st)
Belarus Dinamo Minsk (1st) Bosnia and Herzegovina Borac Banja Luka (1st) Luxembourg Differdange 03 (1st) Faroe Islands (1st)
Northern Ireland Larne (1st) Malta Ħamrun Spartans (1st) Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi (1st) Estonia Flora (1st)
Iceland Víkingur Reykjavík (1st) Albania Egnatia (1st) Wales The New Saints (1st) Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps (1st)
North Macedonia Struga (1st) Andorra UE Santa Coloma (1st) Montenegro Dečić (1st) San Marino Virtus (1st)
  1. ^
    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 2024–25 season.
  2. ^
    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.[7] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[8]

Schedule

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The schedule of the competition is as follows.[9] Compared to past seasons, one "exclusive week" will be introduced in which Thursday will also be a matchday.[2][10][11] All matches in other weeks will be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays apart from the final.

Schedule for 2024–25 UEFA Champions League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying First qualifying round 18 June 2024 9–10 July 2024 16–17 July 2024
Second qualifying round 19 June 2024 23–24 July 2024 30–31 July 2024
Third qualifying round 22 July 2024 6–7 August 2024 13 August 2024
Play-offs Play-off round 5 August 2024 20–21 August 2024 27–28 August 2024
League phase Matchday 1 29 August 2024 17–18 September 2024
Matchday 2 1–2 October 2024
Matchday 3 22–23 October 2024
Matchday 4 5–6 November 2024
Matchday 5 26–27 November 2024
Matchday 6 10–11 December 2024
Matchday 7 21–22 January 2025
Matchday 8 29 January 2025
Knockout phase Knockout round play-offs 31 January 2025 11–12 February 2025 18–19 February 2025
Round of 16 21 February 2025 4–5 March 2025 11–12 March 2025
Quarter-finals 8–9 April 2025 15–16 April 2025
Semi-finals 29–30 April 2025 6–7 May 2025
Final 31 May 2025 at Allianz Arena, Munich

Qualifying rounds

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First qualifying round

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The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 18 June 2024. The first legs were played on 9 and 10 July, and the second legs were played on 16 and 17 July 2024.

The winners of the ties advanced to the Champions Path second qualifying round. 12 of the 14 losers were transferred to the Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round and 2 were transferred to the Conference League Champions Path qualifying and received a bye to the third qualifying round.

First qualifying round
Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Slovan Bratislava Slovakia6–3North Macedonia Struga4–22–1
The New Saints Wales4–1Montenegro Dečić3–01–1
Borac Banja Luka Bosnia and Herzegovina2–2 (4–1 p)Albania Egnatia1–01–2 (a.e.t.)
Ħamrun Spartans Malta1–1 (4–5 p)Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps0–11–0 (a.e.t.)
UE Santa Coloma Andorra3–3 (6–5 p)[A]Kosovo Ballkani1–22–1 (a.e.t.)
Flora Estonia1–7Slovenia Celje0–51–2
Faroe Islands2–0Luxembourg Differdange 032–00–0
Panevėžys Lithuania4–1Finland HJK3–01–1
RFS Latvia7–0Northern Ireland Larne3–04–0
Víkingur Reykjavík Iceland1–2Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers0–01–2
Virtus San Marino1–11Romania FCSB1–70–4
Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria3–2Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi3–10–1
Ordabasy Kazakhstan0–1Moldova Petrocub Hîncești0–00–1
Dinamo Minsk Belarus1–0Armenia Pyunik0–01–0
  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second qualifying round

[edit]

The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2024. The first legs were played on 23 and 24 July, and the second legs were played on 30 and 31 July 2024.

The winners of the ties advanced to the third qualifying round of their respective path. The Champions Path losers were transferred to the Europa League Champions Path third qualifying round, while the League Path losers were transferred to the Europa League Main Path third qualifying round.

Second qualifying round
Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Path
Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria2–1Belarus Dinamo Minsk2–00–1
APOEL Cyprus2–1Moldova Petrocub Hîncești1–01–1
Ferencváros Hungary7–1Wales The New Saints5–02–1
PAOK Greece4–2Bosnia and Herzegovina Borac Banja Luka3–21–0
Bodø/Glimt Norway7–1Latvia RFS4–03–1
Malmö FF Sweden6–4Faroe Islands 4–12–3
Shamrock Rovers Republic of Ireland2–6Czech Republic Sparta Prague0–22–4
UE Santa Coloma Andorra0–4Denmark Midtjylland0–30–1
Celje Slovenia1–6Slovakia Slovan Bratislava1–10–5
Panevėžys Lithuania1–7Poland Jagiellonia Białystok0–41–3
Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar0–7Azerbaijan Qarabağ0–20–5
FCSB Romania2–1Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv1–11–0
League Path
Lugano Switzerland4–6Turkey Fenerbahçe3–41–2
Dynamo Kyiv Ukraine9–2Serbia Partizan6–23–0

Third qualifying round

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The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 22 July 2024. The first legs were played on 6 and 7 August, and the second legs will be played on 13 August 2024.

The winners of the ties will advance to the play-off round of their respective paths. The Champions Path losers will be transferred to the Europa League play-off round, while the League Path losers will be transferred to the Europa League league phase.

Third qualifying round
Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Path
Qarabağ AzerbaijanMatch 1Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad1–213 Aug
Slovan Bratislava SlovakiaMatch 2Cyprus APOEL2–013 Aug
Sparta Prague Czech RepublicMatch 3Romania FCSB1–113 Aug
Malmö FF SwedenMatch 4Greece PAOK2–213 Aug
Midtjylland DenmarkMatch 5Hungary Ferencváros2–013 Aug
Jagiellonia Białystok PolandMatch 6Norway Bodø/Glimt0–113 Aug
League Path
Slavia Prague Czech RepublicMatch 1Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise3–113 Aug
Lille FranceMatch 2Turkey Fenerbahçe2–113 Aug
Dynamo Kyiv UkraineMatch 3Scotland Rangers1–113 Aug
Red Bull Salzburg AustriaMatch 4Netherlands Twente2–113 Aug

Play-off round

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The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 August 2024. The first legs will be played on 20 and 21 August, and the second legs will be played on 27 and 28 August 2024.

The winners of the ties will advance to the league phase. The losers will be transferred to the Europa League league phase.

Play-off round
Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Path
Young Boys SwitzerlandMatch 1Turkey Galatasaray21 Aug27 Aug
Dinamo Zagreb CroatiaMatch 2Winner of CH match 120 or 21 Aug27 or 28 Aug
Winner of CH match 5Match 3Winner of CH match 220 or 21 Aug27 or 28 Aug
Winner of CH match 6Match 4Serbia Red Star Belgrade20 or 21 Aug27 or 28 Aug
Winner of CH match 4Match 5Winner of CH match 320 or 21 Aug27 or 28 Aug
League Path
Winner of LP match 2Match 1Winner of LP match 120 or 21 Aug27 or 28 Aug
Winner of LP match 3Match 2Winner of LP match 420 or 21 Aug27 or 28 Aug

League phase

[edit]
Location of Benelux and nearby teams of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League league phase.

The league phase draw for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League will be held at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, on 29 August 2024.[12][13]

Sixteen clubs will be national champions. All teams will make their debut appearances in the inaugural league phase, while Aston Villa, Bologna, Brest and Girona will make their debut appearances since the introduction of the group stage. Brest and Girona will also make their debut appearances in European football.[14][15]

Qualified clubs
Currently qualified clubs are based in 11 countries, 14 have already won the European Champions Cup, and another 6 have reached the final.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 2 or 3 Pot 3 Pot 3 or 4 Pot 4

Knockout phase

[edit]

The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the knockout phase and will receive a bye to the round of 16, while the teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a two-legged first round play-off to secure their path to the round of 16, with teams ranked 9th–16th being seeded and hosting the second leg at home while teams ranked 17th to 24th hosting the first leg. The winners will join the top eight in the round of 16. Meanwhile, teams that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated from all competitions, with no access to the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League.[2]

Final

[edit]
TBD v TBD

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "UEFA approves final format and access list for its club competitions as of the 2024/25 season". UEFA.com. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c UEFA.com (13 March 2024). "New format for Champions League post-2024: Everything you need to know | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  3. ^ "The New Champions League Format Explained". www.soccersat.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Venues appointed for club competition finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League, 2024/25 Season". Nyon: UEFA. 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Association coefficients 2022/23". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. July 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ Sheldon, Dan. "How the new Champions League format works". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  11. ^ "More national derby games possible when revamped Champions League starts next year". AP News. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  12. ^ "2024/25 UEFA Champions League: Matches, final, key dates". UEFA. 1 January 2024. Archived from the original on 14 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  13. ^ "UEFA Club Competitions 2024/25 onwards: new league phase draw procedures explained". UEFA. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Atalanta close in on Champions League, Bologna and Juve qualify". SuperSport. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Girona: Catalan side beat Barcelona to secure Champions League football for first time". BBC Sport. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
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