The UEFA Champions League is widely regarded as the pinnacle of club football, where legends are forged and dreams come to life. For the 2025/26 season, the competition continues with its revamped "league phase" format, introduced in 2024/25, which has been praised for delivering high stakes, thrilling matches, and weekly drama. This article explains the draw process for the league phase and knockout stages, offering a clear guide for fans new to the competition or seeking a refresher.
League Phase Draw: Format and Rules
The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league-phase draw is scheduled for Thursday, August 28, 2025, at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET) at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
How It Works
- Teams: 36 clubs participate, including 27 that qualified through their domestic league positions, the previous season’s Champions League winner (Paris Saint-Germain), the Europa League winner (Tottenham), and seven teams from the qualifying rounds.
- Pots: The 36 teams are divided into four pots of nine, based on their UEFA coefficient rankings.
- Fixtures: Each team is drawn to play eight league-phase matches—two against teams from each pot (one home, one away).
- Restrictions:
- Teams cannot face opponents from their own country.
- No team can play more than two teams from the same nation.
- Process: The draw is mostly automated. Teams are manually drawn from pots as a formality, and UEFA’s computer software assigns opponents based on the restrictions. As the draw progresses, the pool of possible opponents narrows.
Where to Watch the Draw
| Region | TV | Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | Paramount+ |
| Canada | — | — |
| UK | TNT Sports | discovery+ |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| India | — | — |
Knockout-Playoff Draw
After the league phase, which spans Matchdays 1 to 8, all 36 teams are ranked in a single table. The top eight advance directly to the Round of 16, while teams ranked 9th to 24th enter the knockout-playoff round.
How It Works
- Seeding: Teams finishing 9th to 16th are seeded; those finishing 17th to 24th are unseeded.
- Matchups: The draw pairs seeded and unseeded teams based on their league-phase positions, with restrictions to ensure competitive balance:
| Seeded Pairs | Unseeded Pairs | |
|---|---|---|
| 9th & 10th place | vs. | 23rd & 24th place |
| 11th & 12th place | vs. | 21st & 22nd place |
| 13th & 14th place | vs. | 19th & 20th place |
| 15th & 16th place | vs. | 17th & 18th place |
- Process: Unseeded teams are drawn first from their own pot and allocated to positions in the bracket. Seeded teams are then drawn and matched with their corresponding unseeded pairs.
Round of 16 Draw
Once the knockout-playoff round concludes, the remaining 16 teams proceed to the Round of 16. The draw is straightforward, with matchups largely predetermined to reward higher league-phase finishers.
How It Works
- Seeding: The top eight teams from the league phase (1st to 8th) are seeded and paired against winners from the knockout-playoff round.
- Matchups: The draw follows a set structure to pit higher-ranked teams against lower-ranked ones:
| Seeded Pairs | Unseeded Pairs (Knockout-Playoff Winners) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st & 2nd place | vs. | 15th/16th vs. 17th/18th |
| 3rd & 4th place | vs. | 13th/14th vs. 19th/20th |
| 5th & 6th place | vs. | 11th/12th vs. 21st/22nd |
| 7th & 8th place | vs. | 9th/10th vs. 23rd/24th |
- Note: The draw is not re-seeded for upsets in the knockout-playoff round. This means a top seed could face a stronger opponent than expected, adding an element of unpredictability.
Quarterfinal and Semifinal Draws
Unlike previous formats, the current Champions League structure does not include separate draws for the quarterfinals or semifinals. Instead, the entire bracket is set after the Round of 16 draw.
How It Works
- Quarterfinals: Four bowls, each containing two balls representing potential Round of 16 winners, are drawn to determine quarterfinal matchups.
- Semifinals: Two bowls with two balls each are drawn to set the semifinal matchups.
- Final: No draw occurs for the final. The team from the "silver" side of the bracket is designated the "home" team, and the team from the "blue" side is the "away" team.
The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League promises another season of unforgettable moments, with the new format designed to maximize excitement and competition.
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