A total of 52 teams competed in the qualifying system, which included the qualifying phase and the play-off round, with 42 teams in the Champions Path and 10 teams in the League Path. The seven winners in the play-off round (five from Champions Path, two from League Path) advanced to the league phase, to join the 29 teams that entered it.[2]
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Format
The qualifying phase and play-off round was split into two paths – the Champions Path and the League Path. The Champions Path contained teams which qualified as the winners of their domestic league, and the League Path contained teams which qualified as runners-up, third-placed or fourth-placed teams from their domestic league.
Each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time was played, and if the same number of goals was scored by both teams during extra time, the tie was determined by a penalty shoot-out.[3]
In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round may not have been known at the time of the draws, the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to the subsequent round, which meant if the team with the lower coefficient advanced, it would simply take the seeding of its opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA could form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee purely for the convenience of the draw and not to resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA could not be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie could be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows. All matches were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.[1]
Schedule for 2024–25 UEFA Champions League
Round
Draw date
First leg
Second leg
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-off round
5 August 2024
20–21 August 2024
27–28 August 2024
Teams
Champions Path
The Champions Path included all league champions which did not qualify directly for the league phase, and consisted of the following rounds:
First qualifying round (28 teams): 28 teams which entered in this round.
Second qualifying round (24 teams): 10 teams which entered in this round, and 14 winners of the first qualifying round.
Third qualifying round (12 teams): 12 winners of the second qualifying round.
Play-off round (10 teams): 4 teams which entered in this round, and 6 winners of the third qualifying round.
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 18 June 2024.
Seeding
A total of 28 teams played in the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA allocated the teams into three groups, two with five seeded and five unseeded teams and one with four seeded and four unseeded team per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.[5] The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2024.
Seeding
A total of 28 teams played in the second qualifying round – 24 in the Champions Path and 4 in the League Path. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA allocated the teams into three groups of four seeded and four unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
† Winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 23 and 24 July, and the second legs were played on 30 and 31 July 2024.
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 22 July 2024.
Seeding
A total of 20 teams played in the third qualifying round – 12 in the Champions Path and 8 in the League Path. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Prior to the draw, UEFA formed groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
† Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 6 and 7 August, and the second legs were played on 13 August 2024.
The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round of their respective paths. The Champions Path losers were transferred to the Europa League play-off round, while the League Path losers were transferred to the Europa League league phase.
The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 August 2024.
Seeding
A total of 14 teams played in the play-off round – 10 in the Champions Path and 4 in the League Path. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA could form groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
† Winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 20 and 21 August, and the second legs were played on 27 and 28 August 2024.
^Struga played their home match at the SRC Biljanini Izvori in Ohrid, instead of their regular stadium, the Gradska Plaža Stadium, in Struga, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^Dečić played their home match at the Podgorica City Stadium in Podgorica, instead of their regular stadium, the Stadion Tuško Polje, in Tuzi, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^Egnatia played their home match at the Elbasan Arena in Elbasan, instead of their regular stadium, the Egnatia Arena, in Rrogozhinë, due to renovation works.[16]
^ abLincoln Red Imps played their home matches at Europa Sports Park, instead of the Victoria Stadium, due to renovation works.[21]
^Ballkani played their home match at the Zahir Pajaziti Stadium in Podujevo, instead of their regular stadium, the Suva Reka City Stadium, in Suva Reka, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^ abcFCSB played their home matches at the Steaua Stadium, instead of their regular stadium, the Arena Națională, as it was being used for a series of concerts including Ed Sheeran.[50]
^ abPetrocub Hîncești played their home matches at the Zimbru Stadium in Chișinău, instead of their regular stadium, the Stadionul Municipal, in Hîncești, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^Due to the Israel–Hamas war, Israeli teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[112]
^Lugano played their home match at the Stockhorn Arena, in Thun, instead of their regular stadium, the Cornaredo Stadium, in Lugano, due to renovation works.[115]
^ abcDue to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[120]
^Union Saint-Gilloise played their home match at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, instead of their regular stadium, the Joseph Marien Stadium, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
Note: In 1991–92, the competition was still known as the European Cup, but is included as it was the first to use a group stage format. In that season and 1992–93, there was no knockout phase between the group stage and final.
