To help you follow every step on the road to the final in June, we explain all you need to know about the 2026/27 Champions League season below, from the key dates to the draws and the format of the competition.
How does the qualifying phase work?
29 teams directly qualified for the league phase of the Champions League based on their results in the 2025/26 season. The remaining seven spots are decided via the qualifying phase that ends with the play-offs this week, with clubs participating according to the coefficient ranking of their respective federations. All knockout rounds are played over two legs.
Dates for the knockout rounds and play-offs
First qualifying round: July 7th/8th and 14th/15th, 2026
Second qualifying round: July 21st/22nd and 28th/29th, 2026
Third qualifying round: August 4th/5th and 11th, 2026
Play-offs: August 18th/19th and 25th/26th, 2026
Follow the Champions League qualifiers with Flashscore!
Which teams have already qualified?
The following 32 teams have already qualified for the Champions League proper:
Arsenal (England); Manchester City (England); Manchester United (England); Aston Villa (England); Liverpool (England); Real Madrid (Spain); FC Barcelona (Spain); Atletico Madrid (Spain); Villarreal (Spain); Real Betis (Spain); Inter Milan (Italy); Napoli (Italy); AS Roma (Italy); Como (Italy); Bayern Munich (Germany); Borussia Dortmund (Germany); RB Leipzig (Germany); VfB Stuttgart (Germany); Paris Saint-Germain (France); RC Lens (France); LOSC Lille (France); PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands); Feyenoord (Netherlands); FC Porto (Portugal); Sporting CP (Portugal); Club Brugge (Belgium); Galatasaray (Turkey); Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine); Slavia Prague (Czechia): Bodo/Glimt (Norway); LASK (Austria); Sabah Baku (Azerbaijan)
When are the various Champions League draws?
First qualifying round: June 16th, 2026
Second qualifying round: June 17th, 2026
Third qualifying round: July 20th, 2026
Play-offs: August 3rd, 2026
League phase: August 27th, 2026
Knockout phase play-offs: January 29th, 2027
Round of 16 and final bracket: February 26th, 2027
How does the league phase draw work?
The draw for the Champions League main phase will take place on Thursday, August 27th, at 18:00 CET in Monaco and can be streamed on UEFA.com.
For the draw, the 36 teams that qualify for the tournament are placed into four pots of nine teams, with one being the highest-ranked and four being the lowest. The pot placements are based on UEFA's club coefficient ranking from the five-season period ending at the conclusion of 2025/26.
The draw determines each side's eight fixtures for the league phase, with every team drawing two teams from each of the four pots. However, they cannot face a team from the same country as themselves.
Which team is in each pot?
Pot 1: PSG; Bayern Munich; Real Madrid; Liverpool; Inter; Manchester City; Arsenal; Barcelona; Atletico Madrid
Pot 2: Dortmund; Roma; Sporting; Aston Villa; Porto; Manchester United; Club Brugge; Real Betis; PSV
Pot 3: Feyenoord; Lille; Napoli; RB Leipzig; Villarreal; Shakhtar Donetsk; Galatasaray; Winner of Fenerbahce vs Lyon
Pot 3 or 4: Bodo/Glimt; Winner of Dinamo Zagreb vs Viking; LASK; Slavia Prague
Pot 4: Winner of Slovan Bratislava vs Celje; Stuttgart; Winner of Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens; Como; Lens; Sabah
The format of the Champions League
The teams who finish in the top eight of the league phase after the eight Matchdays qualify for the Champions League's Round of 16. Those between ninth and 24th will enter the play-off knockout round. The 12 teams ranked between 25th and 36th will exit the competition when the league phase is concluded.
When are the league phase matchdays?
Matchday 1: September 8th-10th, 2026
Matchday 2: October 13th-14th, 2026
Matchday 3: November 20th-21st, 2026
Matchday 4: November 3rd-4th, 2026
Matchday 5: November 24th-25th, 2026
Matchday 6: December 8th-9th, 2026
Matchday 7: January 19th-20th, 2027
Matchday 8: January 27th, 2027
When are the knockout rounds played?
Knockout play-offs: February 16th-17th and 23rd-24th, 2027
Round of 16: March 9th-10th and 16th-17th, 2027
Quarter-finals: April 6th-7th and 13th-14th, 2027
Semi-finals: April 27th-28th and May 4th-5th, 2027
Final: June 5th, 2027
When and where is the Champions League final?
The Estadio Metropolitano, home of Atletico Madrid, will host the final of the 2026/27 Champions League on Saturday, June 5th, 2027, where the winner will be crowned.
This will be the second time this stadium hosts the Champions League final. The first was in 2019, when Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in an all-English decider.