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, with 36 participating teams that play eight games each against different opponents in a league phase, all the teams being ranked in a joint group.[2][3] This will increase the total number of matches played in the competition from 125 to 189 (excluding qualifying rounds).
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]
The two associations who obtained 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 could not fill the European Performance Spots.
Association ranking
For the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2023 UEFA association coefficients, which took 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 could 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
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 suspension of Russia in European football, and so the following changes to the default access list were made:
The champions of associations 23 (Sweden) and 24 (Poland) entered 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 were 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, entered 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, entered 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, entered 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 were made:
Benfica, as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the League Path third qualifying round, entered 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, entered the third qualifying round.
Teams
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 were divided into Champions Path (CH) and League Path (LP).
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
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.
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 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 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 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.
The first legs were played on 20 and 21 August, and the second legs were played on 27 and 28 August 2024.
Location of Benelux teams of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League league phase.
The league phase draw for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League took place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 29 August 2024, 18:00 CEST.[12][13] The 36 teams were divided into four pots of nine teams each based on their UEFA club coefficient, except for the Champions League title holders, who were automatically placed as the top seed in pot 1.
The 36 teams were manually drawn and then automated software digitally drew their eight different opponents at random, determining which of their matches were at home and which ones away. Each team will face two opponents from each of the four pots, one at home and one away. Teams could not face opponents from their own association, and could only be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same association.[14]
A total of 16 national associations are represented in the league phase.
Table
The top eight ranked teams will receive a bye to the round of 16. The teams ranked from 9th to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the teams ranked from 9th to 16th seeded for the draw. Teams ranked from 25th to 36th are eliminated from all competitions, with no access to the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League.
Updated to match(es) played on 11 December 2024. Source: UEFA Rules for classification: League phase tiebreakers (E) Eliminated; (W) Assured of at least the play-offs (seeded), but may still advance directly to the round of 16; (X) Assured of at least the play-offs (unseeded), but may still advance directly to the round of 16; (Y) Cannot advance directly to the round of 16, but may still qualify via the play-offs (seeded); (Z) Cannot advance directly to the round of 16, but may still qualify via the play-offs (unseeded)
In the knockout phase, teams will play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The bracket structure for the knockout phase is partially fixed in advance using seeding, with teams' positions in the bracket determined by the final standings in the league phase.
In the knockout phase, there is no country protection, with teams from the same association able to face each other in any round. Teams can also face opponents they played during the league phase.
The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:[5]
In the draw for the knockout phase play-offs, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 9–16 are seeded, and the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 17–24 are unseeded. The draw is split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams host the second leg.
In the draw for the round of 16, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 1–8 are seeded, and the eight winners of the knockout phase play-offs are unseeded. Again, the draw is split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams host the second leg.
In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the exact match pairings are predetermined based on the tournament bracket. A draw is conducted only to determine which team plays the first leg at home. A draw is also held to determine which semi-final winner is designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it is played at a neutral venue).
Qualified teams
The following teams have secured a place in the knockout phase:
Guaranteed to finish 1–16 (round TBD, guaranteed seeded)
† While the ties are predetermined, a draw will determine the order of the legs for the quarter-finals and semi-finals, as well as the administrative "home" team for the final.
Knockout phase play-offs
The draw for the knockout phase play-offs will be held on 31 January 2025.
The first legs will be played on 11 and 12 February, and the second legs will be played on 18 and 19 February 2025.
The draw for the round of 16 will be held on 21 February 2025.
The first legs will be played on 4 and 5 March, and the second legs will be played on 11 and 12 March 2025.
The draw for the order of the quarter-final legs will be held on 21 February 2025, after the round of 16 draw.
The first legs will be played on 8 and 9 April, and the second legs will be played on 15 and 16 April 2025.
^ abcdWhile the ties are predetermined, the order of the legs will be determined by a draw.
Semi-finals
The draw for the order of the semi-final legs will be held on 21 February 2025, after the round of 16 and quarter-final draws.
The first legs will be played on 29 and 30 April, and the second legs will be played on 6 and 7 May 2025.
The final will be played on 31 May 2025 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. A draw will be held on 21 February 2025 (after the round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draws) to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes.
