This is the 70th season of Europe’s elite club competition, the 33rd since it was renamed the UEFA Champions League, and the first under the new format.
Here’s everything you need to know about Thursday’s league phase draw for the 2024/25 Champions League.
What is the new Champions League format?
The biggest change is to the group stage, which will become a single 36-team league phase. Each side faces eight different teams (four at home, four away). The top eight overall advance directly to the round of 16; sides finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the victors going through to the last 16. From then on it is a straight knockout.
Which teams are involved in the 2024/25 Champions League?
Twenty-five teams qualify automatically by virtue of their domestic league placing, with the holders of the Champions League and UEFA Europa League also both guaranteed a spot.
| League represented | Team(s) |
|---|---|
| La Liga | Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid |
| Serie A | Atalanta, Inter, Milan, Juventus, Bologna |
| Premier League | Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa |
| Bundesliga | Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund |
| Ligue 1 | Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest |
| Eredivisie | PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord |
| Primeira Liga | Sporting CP, Benfica |
| Belgian Pro League | Club Brugge |
| Scottish Premiership | Celtic |
| Austrian Bundesliga | Sturm Graz |
| Ukrainian Premier League | Shakhtar Donetsk |
How does 2024/25 Champions League qualifying work?
Fifty-two sides battle it out for the remaining seven league phase spots, culminating in August’s play-offs. The stage at which the teams, including 42 domestic champions, enter qualifying is based on their association club coefficient ranking. All ties are played over two legs.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League qualifiers?
It kicked off on 9 July 2024 and runs until the final in Munich, Germany on Saturday 31 May 2025.
- First qualifying round: 9/10 & 16/17 July 2024
- Second qualifying round: 23/24 & 30/31 July 2024
- Third qualifying round: 6/7 & 13 August 2024
- Play-offs: 20/21 & 27/28 August 2024