Qualifying for the 2026/27 Champions League begins in July: the schedule and club entry by stages are known
Qualifying for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League begins on 7 July 2026, when the first of four qualifying steps starts, determining the final seven participants in the league phase over the summer. According to the schedule published by UEFA, the first qualifying round is played on 7/8 and 14/15 July, the second on 21/22 and 28/29 July, the third on 4/5 and 11 August, while the play-off matches are scheduled for 18/19 and 25/26 August. The league phase begins in September, and the first matchday is played from 8 to 10 September 2026.
UEFA states that 29 clubs will qualify directly for the league phase, while the remaining seven places will be filled through qualifying and the play-offs. All qualifying ties are played over two legs, home and away, and the stage at which an individual club enters the competition is determined by the access list and the coefficients of national associations. The list of participants published by UEFA ahead of the draw is marked as provisional because it is based on sporting qualification and does not include possible subsequent disciplinary, licensing or other procedures.
The 2026/27 season will be the 72nd edition of Europe's elite club competition and the third season in the format with a 36-club league phase. According to UEFA's calendar, the draw for the first qualifying round takes place on 16 June, the draw for the second qualifying round on 17 June, the third qualifying round on 20 July, and the play-offs on 3 August. The league phase draw has been announced for 27 August, after the end of the qualifying cycle. The final will be played on 5 June 2027 at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.
How the qualifying path is divided
From the second qualifying round, qualifying is divided into the champions path and the league path. The champions path is intended for clubs that earned their place in the Champions League by winning their national championship, while the league path brings together clubs that enter the competition through their finishing positions in championships of associations with multiple places in Europe's elite. According to available UEFA and specialist data on the access list, through the final play-off five clubs from the champions path and two clubs from the league path enter the league phase.
This division is especially important for understanding the summer schedule. In the first qualifying round, only champions from associations that, according to the access list, start the earliest take part. In the second qualifying round, new champions from associations with a higher coefficient join those clubs, as do the first clubs from the league path. The third qualifying round further expands the league path, while several more national champions enter directly in the play-off, and the remaining places are filled by the winners of previous rounds.
UEFA has also confirmed that Russian clubs are suspended from European competitions until further notice. Due to the rebalancing of the access list and the fact that some title holders of European competitions have already secured a place in the league phase through their national championships, some clubs have been moved to a higher stage or directly into the league phase. A specialised overview of UEFA coefficients states, among other things, that Shakhtar Donetsk entered the league phase, while certain clubs from the qualifying routes were moved to later rounds.
Calendar of qualifying rounds and draws
- First qualifying round: the matches are scheduled for 7/8 and 14/15 July 2026; the draw is on 16 June 2026.
- Second qualifying round: the matches are played on 21/22 and 28/29 July 2026; the draw is on 17 June 2026.
- Third qualifying round: the matches are played on 4/5 and 11 August 2026; the draw is on 20 July 2026.
- Play-off: the matches are played on 18/19 and 25/26 August 2026; the draw is on 3 August 2026.
- League phase: the first matchday is played from 8 to 10 September 2026; the league phase draw has been announced for 27 August 2026.
Table overview of club entry by stages
Below is an overview of the clubs that, according to UEFA's list, enter each qualifying stage. The display lists the club location, country or UEFA national association, and the basic entry path. The winners of each stage continue to the next round, so in the second qualifying round the winners of the first qualifying round also join, in the third the winners of the second qualifying round join, and in the play-off the winners of the third qualifying round join.
- First qualifying round: FC Ararat-Armenia; location: Yerevan; country/association: Armenia; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Atert Bissen; location: Bissen; country/association: Luxembourg; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Borac Banja Luka; location: Banja Luka; country/association: Bosnia and Herzegovina; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Drita; location: Gjilan; country/association: Kosovo; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Egnatia; location: Rrogozhinë; country/association: Albania; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Flora Tallinn; location: Tallinn; country/association: Estonia; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Floriana; location: Floriana; country/association: Malta; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Győri ETO; location: Győr; country/association: Hungary; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Iberia Tbilisi; location: Tbilisi; country/association: Georgia; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Inter Club d'Escaldes; location: Escaldes-Engordany; country/association: Andorra; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Kairat Almaty; location: Almaty; country/association: Kazakhstan; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Kauno Žalgiris; location: Kaunas; country/association: Lithuania; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: KÍ Klaksvík; location: Klaksvík; country/association: Faroe Islands; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: KuPS Kuopio; location: Kuopio; country/association: Finland; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Lincoln Red Imps; location: Gibraltar; country/association: Gibraltar; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Larne; location: Larne; country/association: Northern Ireland; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Levski Sofia; location: Sofia; country/association: Bulgaria; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Petrocub Hîncești; location: Hîncești; country/association: Moldova; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Riga FC; location: Riga; country/association: Latvia; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Sabah; location: Masazır; country/association: Azerbaijan; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Shamrock Rovers; location: Dublin; country/association: Ireland; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Sutjeska; location: Nikšić; country/association: Montenegro; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: The New Saints; location: Oswestry and Llansantffraid; country/association: Wales; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Tre Fiori; location: Fiorentino; country/association: San Marino; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Universitatea Craiova; location: Craiova; country/association: Romania; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Vardar Skopje; location: Skopje; country/association: North Macedonia; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: Víkingur Reykjavík; location: Reykjavík; country/association: Iceland; route: champions path.
- First qualifying round: ML Vitebsk; location: Vitebsk; country/association: Belarus; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: AGF Aarhus; location: Aarhus; country/association: Denmark; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: Celje; location: Celje; country/association: Slovenia; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: Crvena zvezda; location: Belgrade; country/association: Serbia; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: Fenerbahçe; location: Istanbul; country/association: Turkey; route: league path.
- Second qualifying round: GNK Dinamo; location: Zagreb; country/association: Croatia; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: Górnik Zabrze; location: Zabrze; country/association: Poland; route: league path.
- Second qualifying round: Hapoel Be'er Sheva; location: Be'er Sheva; country/association: Israel; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: Hearts; location: Edinburgh; country/association: Scotland; route: league path.
- Second qualifying round: Lech Poznań; location: Poznań; country/association: Poland; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: Mjällby AIF; location: Hällevik; country/association: Sweden; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: Omonoia; location: Nicosia; country/association: Cyprus; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: Slovan Bratislava; location: Bratislava; country/association: Slovakia; route: champions path.
- Second qualifying round: Sturm Graz; location: Graz; country/association: Austria; route: league path.
- Second qualifying round: Thun; location: Thun; country/association: Switzerland; route: champions path.
- Third qualifying round: Bodø/Glimt; location: Bodø; country/association: Norway; route: league path.
- Third qualifying round: Lyon; location: Lyon; country/association: France; route: league path.
- Third qualifying round: N.E.C. Nijmegen; location: Nijmegen; country/association: Netherlands; route: league path.
- Third qualifying round: Olympiacos; location: Piraeus; country/association: Greece; route: league path.
- Third qualifying round: Sparta Praha; location: Prague; country/association: Czechia; route: league path.
- Third qualifying round: Union Saint-Gilloise; location: Saint-Gilles and Brussels; country/association: Belgium; route: league path.
- Play-off: AEK Athens; location: Athens; country/association: Greece; route: champions path.
- Play-off: Celtic; location: Glasgow; country/association: Scotland; route: champions path.
- Play-off: LASK; location: Linz; country/association: Austria; route: champions path.
- Play-off: Viking FK; location: Stavanger; country/association: Norway; route: champions path.
What the play-off brings and why the draw is especially important
The play-off is the final obstacle before the league phase and decides the last seven places in the main part of the competition. Since the competition is divided into two separate paths from the second qualifying round, clubs from the champions path do not cross with clubs from the league path in the same round. This means that national champions from smaller and medium-sized associations have a separate qualifying channel, while clubs from stronger leagues that were not champions compete among themselves for two places.
The draws in June and July will therefore determine not only the first opponents, but also the entire structure of the possible path until the end of August. UEFA uses a seeding system in qualifying that is based on club coefficients, and specialised coefficient overviews show that seeded status can significantly affect the difficulty of the path. Nevertheless, seeding does not change the basic rule: each tie is decided over two legs, and progression depends on the aggregate score.
For clubs that enter the competition earlier, the path is considerably longer. A participant in the first qualifying round must pass through four rounds to reach the league phase, while clubs entering in the play-off must pass through only one two-legged tie. But later entry does not guarantee an easier opponent profile, especially in the league path, where clubs from competitively strong championships already appear in the second and third qualifying rounds. In that context, the draw for the second qualifying round on 17 June will be followed especially closely because that is when the largest number of new clubs enters the competition after the opening round.
The league phase begins in September
After the end of the play-offs, all 36 participants in the league phase will be known before the draw on 27 August. The new Champions League format, introduced from the 2024/25 season, does not use classic groups, but a single league table in which each team plays eight matches against different opponents. According to UEFA's schedule, the 2026/27 league phase will last until 27 January 2027, after which the knockout rounds follow.
For the qualifying participants, the reward is exceptionally large because entering the league phase brings a place among the 36 clubs of Europe's elite, an additional international schedule of at least eight matches, and significantly higher revenues than those available in earlier qualifying rounds. At the same time, sporting balance is also important for the competition: seven places through qualifying leave an open path for clubs from the wider European area, while direct entry into the league phase is based on results in national leagues, European titles and UEFA's access list rules.
Sources:
- UEFA – overview of the 2026/27 Champions League season, dates of qualifying rounds, draws, league phase and final (link)
- UEFA – official list of clubs by stages for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League and note on the provisional status of participants (link)
- UEFA – access list and explanation of tracking clubs in men's UEFA club competitions 2026/27 (link)
- Kassiesa.net – qualifying overview of European club competitions 2026/27, rebalancing of the access list and club status (link)
- Kassiesa.net – seeding and club distribution in the qualifying rounds of the 2026/27 Champions League according to UEFA coefficients (link)