Champions League and Europa League Draws Scheduled for August
The draw for the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League is set to take place on Thursday, August 28, in Monaco.
Commencing at 17:00 BST, the draw will follow the same format as the 2024-25 season, which was the inaugural year for the 36-team league phase.
The draw will include 27 teams that qualified through their league positions, the winners of the previous season's Champions League and Europa League, as well as seven teams that advanced from the qualifying rounds.
Teams will be categorized into four pots based on their UEFA club coefficient rankings.
Beginning with pot one, each team will be drawn individually and will be assigned eight opponents using UEFA's automated software.
Each team will compete in a total of eight matches, facing two teams from each pot—one at home and one away.
Importantly, no group stage matches can occur between teams from the same country, and teams may not play more than two matches against clubs from another country, such as Italy.
This process will continue until fixtures for all 36 teams are finalized.
The complete Champions League fixture list, including match dates and kick-off times, will be published no later than Saturday, August 30.
When is the Europa League draw?
The Europa League draw will take place the day after the Champions League draw, starting at 12:00 BST on Friday, August 29.
Similar to the Champions League, 36 teams will be divided into four pots, with each team receiving eight fixtures based on the same selection criteria.
The draws for the Europa League and Conference League will be combined into a single ceremony.
In a shift from tradition, no physical balls will be used for the Europa League or Conference League draws; instead, a fully digital format will ensure a "smooth, efficient, and speedy draw process," according to UEFA.
The complete match calendar for the Europa League will be released no later than Sunday, August 31.
What about the Conference League draw?
The Conference League draw will occur immediately following the Europa League draw as part of the same ceremony.
Unlike the league phases of the Champions League and Europa League, the Conference League consists of only six rounds of fixtures instead of eight.
The 36 clubs will be divided into six pots of six, with each team drawn against one team from each pot.
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