2024–25 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round
The 2024–25 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round will begin on 9 July and end on 28 August 2024.[1]
A total of between 52 and 54 teams will compete in the qualifying system of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League, which will include the qualifying phase and the play-off round, with 42 or 43 teams in Champions Path and 10 or 11 teams in League Path. The seven winners in the play-off round (five from Champions Path, two from League Path) will advance to the league phase, to join the 29 teams that entered in the league phase.[2]
Format
The qualifying phase and play-off round is split into two paths – the Champions Path and the League Path. The Champions Path contains teams which qualify as the winners of their domestic league and the League Path contains teams which qualify as runners-up, third-placed or fourth-placed team from their domestic league.
Each tie will played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs will advance to the next round. If the aggregate score is level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time will be played, and if the same number of goals is scored by both teams during extra time, the tie will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.[3]
The video assistant referee (VAR) will be used in the third qualifying round and the play-off round.[4]
In the draws for each round, teams will be seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round may not known at the time of the draws, the seeding will be carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advances to the subsequent round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient advances, it will simply take the seeding of its opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA can form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee purely for the convenience of the draw and not to resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA can not be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie can be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows. All matches will be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.[1]
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round | 18 June 2024 | 9–10 July 2024 | 16–17 July 2024 |
| Second qualifying round | 19 June 2024 | 23–24 July 2024 | 30–31 July 2024 |
| Third qualifying round | 22 July 2024 | 6–7 August 2024 | 13 August 2024 |
| Play-off round | 5 August 2024 | 20–21 August 2024 | 27–28 August 2024 |
Teams
Champions Path
The Champions Path, before title holders' berths adjustment, will include all league champions which do not qualify directly for the league phase, and consists of the following rounds:
- First qualifying round (30 teams): 30 teams which enter in this round.
- Second qualifying round (24 teams): 9 teams which enter in this round, and 15 winners of the first qualifying round.
- Third qualifying round (12 teams): 12 winners of the second qualifying round.
- Play-off round (10 teams): 4 teams which enter in this round, and 6 winners of the third qualifying round.
All teams eliminated from the Champions Path will enter either the Europa League or the Conference League:
- The 15 losers of the first qualifying round will enter the Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round.
- The 12 losers of the second qualifying round will enter the Europa League Champions Path third qualifying round
- The 6 losers of the third qualifying round will enter the Europa League play-off round.
- The 5 losers of the play-off round will enter the Europa League league phase.
The number of teams which enter in each round may be adjusted depending on the winners of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League and the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League. Should the Champions League winners also qualify for the 2024–25 Champions League via their domestic league, the Champions Path team with the highest 2024 UEFA club coefficient will qualify for the league phase and the entry list will be adjusted. Should the Europa League winners also qualify for the 2024–25 Champions League via their domestic league, the team with the highest 2024 UEFA club coefficient in both paths will qualify for the league phase and the entry list will be adjusted.
Below are the participating teams of the Champions Path (with their 2024 UEFA club coefficients),[5] grouped by their starting rounds.
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Winners of play-off round advance to league phase |
| Losers of play-off round enter Europa League league phase |
| Losers of third qualifying round enter Europa League play-off round |
| Losers of second qualifying round enter Europa League third qualifying round |
| Losers of the first qualifying round enter Conference League second qualifying round |
League Path
The League Path will include all league non-champions which did not qualify directly for the league phase, and consists of the following rounds:
- Second qualifying round (6 teams): 6 teams which enter in this round.
- Third qualifying round (8 teams): 5 teams which enter in this round, and 3 winners of the second qualifying round.
- Play-off round (4 teams): 4 winners of the third qualifying round.
All teams eliminated from the League Path will enter the Europa League:
- The 3 losers of the second qualifying round will enter the Main Path third qualifying round.
- The 4 losers of the third qualifying round and the 2 losers of the play-off round will enter the league phase.
The number of teams which enter in each round may be adjusted depending on the winners of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League. Should the Europa League winners also qualify for the 2024–25 Champions League via their domestic league, the team with the highest 2024 UEFA club coefficient in both paths will qualify for the league phase and the entry list will be adjusted.
Below are the participating teams of the League Path (with their 2024 UEFA club coefficients),[5] grouped by their starting rounds.
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Winners of play-off round advance to league phase |
| Losers of play-off round enter Europa League league phase |
| Losers of third qualifying round enter Europa League league phase |
| Losers of second qualifying round enter Europa League third qualifying round |
|
|
First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round will be held on 18 June 2024.
Seeding
A total of 30 teams will play in the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams will be based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[5] Before the draw, UEFA may form groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team for the first leg.
| Seeded | Seeding to be determined | Unseeded |
|---|---|---|
|
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round will be held on 19 June 2024.
Seeding
A total of 30 teams will play in the second qualifying round – 24 in the Champions Path and 6 in the League Path. Seeding of the teams will be based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[5] Before the draw, UEFA may form groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team for the first leg.
| Seeded | Seeding to be determined |
|---|---|
|
|
| Seeding to be determined |
|---|
|
- Notes
- † Winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round will be held on 22 July 2024.
Seeding
A total of 20 teams will play in the third qualifying round – 12 in the Champions Path and 8 in the League Path. Seeding of the teams will be based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[5] Before the draw, UEFA may form groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team for the first leg.
| Seeding to be determined |
|---|
| Seeded | Seeding to be determined |
|---|---|
|
|
- Notes
- † Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round will be held on 5 August 2024.
Seeding
A total of 14 teams will play in the play-off round – 10 in the Champions Path and 4 in the League Path. Seeding of the teams will be based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[5] Before the draw, UEFA may form groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team for the first leg.
| Seeding to be determined |
|---|
|
| Seeded | Seeding to be determined |
|---|---|
|
|
- Notes
- † Winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
References
- ^ a b "UEFA club competitions cycle 2024–27 ("Post 2024")". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 36/2023. Union of European Football Associations. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ UEFA.com (25 October 2023). "New format for Champions League post-2024: Everything you need to know | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ "Abolition of the away goals rule in all UEFA club competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 June 2021.
- ^ "VAR to be used in UEFA Champions League third qualifying round". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Club coefficients". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.