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Champions League 2026/27: The Full List of Qualified Teams

Champions League 2026/27: The Full List of Qualified Teams

The UEFA Champions League returns for its 72nd season, and third under the current 36-team league phase format, with two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain chasing an unprecedented third consecutive European title, something only three clubs in the competition's history have ever managed.

Standing in their way are the usual giants of the European game, Barcelona, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool among them, along with a genuine fairytale entrant in Como, the Italian side who have qualified for Europe's premier club competition for the first time in their history.

The league phase draw takes place on Thursday, August 27, at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, with Matchday One following on September 8-10. The competition concludes with the final at Atletico Madrid's Estadio Metropolitano on June 5, 2027.

Here is the full list of clubs who have secured their place in Europe's biggest competition, and those still fighting for one through the qualifying rounds.

Teams Qualified for the League Phase, 2026/27

In total, 36 teams will contest the league phase. Of those, 29 have qualified directly, while the remaining seven will come through the playoff round in late August.

The top four teams in each of the four highest-ranked leagues in UEFA's coefficient rankings gain automatic entry. After that, three teams qualify directly from the fifth-ranked league, two from the sixth-ranked league, and one each from leagues ranked seventh through tenth. On top of that, two further places are awarded via European Performance Spots (EPS), extra slots earned by the two national associations whose clubs performed best in UEFA competition the previous season. For 2026/27, those additional places went to England and Spain, with Germany narrowly missing out.

League Coefficients

Rank Nation League Phase Qualifiers Playoff Round Qualifiers
1 England 4 + 1 0
2 Italy 4 0
3 Spain 4 + 1 0
4 Germany 4 0
5 France 3 1
6 Netherlands 2 1
7 Portugal 1 1
8 Belgium 1 1
9 Czechia 1 1
10 Turkey 1 1

League Phase Qualifiers

Club Country How Qualified Last Appearance
Arsenal England Premier League — 1st place 2025/26
Man City England Premier League — 2nd place 2025/26
Man United England Premier League — 3rd place 2023/24
Aston Villa England Premier League — 4th place 2024/25
Liverpool England Premier League — 5th place (EPS)* 2025/26
Inter Milan Italy Serie A — 1st place 2025/26
Napoli Italy Serie A — 2nd place 2025/26
AS Roma Italy Serie A — 3rd place 2018/19
Como Italy Serie A — 4th place None (first appearance)
Barcelona Spain La Liga — 1st place 2025/26
Real Madrid Spain La Liga — 2nd place 2025/26
Villarreal Spain La Liga — 3rd place 2025/26
Atletico Madrid Spain La Liga — 4th place 2025/26
Real Betis Spain La Liga — 5th place (EPS)* 2005/06
Bayern Munich Germany Bundesliga — 1st place 2025/26
Borussia Dortmund Germany Bundesliga — 2nd place 2025/26
RB Leipzig Germany Bundesliga — 3rd place 2024/25
Stuttgart Germany Bundesliga — 4th place 2024/25
PSG France Ligue 1 — 1st place 2025/26
Lens France Ligue 1 — 2nd place 2023/24
Lille France Ligue 1 — 3rd place 2024/25
PSV Netherlands Eredivisie — 1st place 2025/26
Feyenoord Netherlands Eredivisie — 2nd place 2024/25
Porto Portugal Primeira Liga — 1st place 2025/26
Club Brugge Belgium Pro League — 1st place 2025/26
Slavia Prague Czechia First League — 1st place 2025/26
Galatasaray Turkey Super Lig — 1st place 2025/26
Shakhtar Donetsk** Ukraine Premier League — 1st place 2025/26
Sporting CP*** Portugal Primeira Liga — 2nd place 2025/26

*England and Spain mathematically secured a fifth Champions League place via the two European Performance Spots awarded to the top-performing associations in the previous season's UEFA competitions.

**Because defending champions PSG already qualified for next season via domestic table position, the slot normally reserved for the Champions League winner passes to the highest-ranked domestic champion by coefficient not otherwise qualified. This year, that's Shakhtar Donetsk.

***Because Europa League winners Aston Villa already qualified via Premier League position, that slot passes to the highest-ranked club by coefficient not otherwise qualified. This year, that's Sporting CP.

Teams in the Qualifying Rounds

Every nation ranked 11th or lower in the UEFA coefficient sees its champion enter through the qualifying rounds, alongside a handful of others from associations with additional entrants. These teams are split into two routes: a "champions path," made up entirely of domestic title winners, which sends five clubs through to the league phase, and a "league path" for runners-up and other high finishers, which sends two more.

Playoff Round

Club Country How Qualified Last Appearance
Viking Norway Eliteserien — 1st place 1992/93
AEK Athens Greece Super League — 1st place 2023/24
LASK Austria Bundesliga — 1st place 2019/20
Celtic Scotland Premiership — 1st place 2024/25

Third Qualifying Round

Club Country How Qualified Last Appearance
Lyon France Ligue 1 — 4th place 2019/20
NEC Nijmegen Netherlands Eredivisie — 3rd place None (first appearance)
Union St. Gilloise Belgium Pro League — 2nd place 2025/26
Slavia Prague Czechia First League — 2nd place 2025/26
Bodo/Glimt* Norway Eliteserien — 2nd place 2025/26
Olympiacos* Greece Super League — 2nd place 2025/26

*With Sporting CP and Shakhtar Donetsk moved up to the league phase due to the European champions already qualifying via domestic position, Olympiacos and Bodo/Glimt moved up from the second qualifying round to the third.

Second Qualifying Round

Club Country How Qualified Last Appearance
Lech Poznan Poland Ekstraklasa — 1st place 2025/26
AGF Denmark Superliga — 1st place 1987/88
Thun Switzerland Super League — 1st place 2005/06
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel Premier League — 1st place 2018/19
Omonia Nicosia Cyprus First Division — 1st place 2021/22
Mjallby AIF Sweden Allsvenskan — 1st place None (first appearance)
Dinamo Zagreb Croatia Football League — 1st place 2024/25
Red Star Belgrade Serbia SuperLiga — 1st place 2025/26
Fenerbahce Turkey Super Lig — 2nd place 2025/26
Sturm Graz Austria Bundesliga — 2nd place 2025/26
Hearts Scotland Premiership — 2nd place None (first appearance)
Gornik Zabrze Poland Ekstraklasa — 2nd place 1988/89
Slovan Bratislava* Slovakia First Football League — 1st place 2025/26
NK Celje* Slovenia PrvaLiga — 1st place 2024/25

*With both Arsenal and PSG, who contested last season's Champions League final, already qualified via domestic table position, Shakhtar Donetsk moved up to the league phase, and Slovan Bratislava and Celje moved up from the first qualifying round to the second.

First Qualifying Round

Club Country How Qualified Last Appearance
ETO Gyor Hungary NB I — 1st place 2013/14
Universitatea Craiova Romania Liga I — 1st place 1991/92
Levski Sofia Bulgaria First Professional League — 1st place 2009/10
Sabah Azerbaijan Premier League — 1st place None (first appearance)
Shamrock Rovers Rep. of Ireland Premier Division — 1st place 2024/25
Petrocub Hincesti Moldova Moldova Liga — 1st place 2024/25
Vikingur Reykjavik Iceland Beska Deild Karla — 1st place 2024/25
Borac Banja Luka Bosnia & Herzegovina Premier League — 1st place 2024/25
Ararat-Armenia Armenia Premier League — 1st place 2020/21
Riga Latvia Higher League — 1st place 2021/22
Drita Kosovo Superleague — 1st place 2025/26
KuPS Finland Veikkausliiga — 1st place 2025/26
Kairat Almaty Kazakhstan Premier League — 1st place 2025/26
KI Faroe Islands Premier League — 1st place 2024/25
Floriana Malta Premier League — 1st place 2020/21
Larne N. Ireland Premiership — 1st place 2024/25
Kauno Zalgiris Lithuania A Lyga — 1st place None (first appearance)
Flora Estonia Meistriliiga — 1st place 2024/25
Egnatia Albania Kategoria Superiore — 1st place 2025/26
Sutjeska Montenegro First League — 1st place 2022/23
Atert Bissen Luxembourg National Division — 1st place None (first appearance)
The New Saints Wales Cymru Premier — 1st place 2025/26
Iberia 1999 Georgia Erovnuli Liga — 1st place 2025/26
Vardar Macedonia First League — 1st place 2017/18
ML Vitebsk Belarus Premier League — 1st place None (first appearance)
Inter Club d'Escaldes Andorra Premiera Divisio — 1st place 2025/26
Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar Football League — 1st place 2025/26
Tre Fiori San Marino Campionato di Calcio — 1st place 2020/21

What's Next

The remaining seven playoff-round ties are two-legged, with second legs concluding on August 25-26, setting the final 36-team field ahead of the league phase draw two days later. Once underway, each club plays eight league-phase matches against eight different opponents, drawn from four seeding pots, four at home and four away, running through to the final matchday on January 27, 2027. The top eight finishers advance directly to the round of 16, while teams finishing between 9th and 24th enter a two-legged knockout playoff for the remaining spots.

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