UEFA Champions League 2025-26: Format, Rules and Structure
Tournament Format
Group Stage
48 teams split into 12 groups of 4. The top 2 from each group, plus 8 best third-place teams, advance to the Round of 32.
Knockout Rounds
Round of 32 → Round of 16 → Quarter-Finals → Semi-Finals → Third-Place Play-off → Final.
Host Nations
USA, Canada and Mexico co-host the 2026 World Cup — the first ever to be hosted by three nations. 16 host cities across North America.
48
104
12 (A–L)
11 Jun – 19 Jul 2026
Match Predictions
AI-powered predictions for upcoming fixtures (powered by API-Football).
Unpredictable Matches
Closest-predicted group stage encounters — could go either way.
Mexico
33%
South Korea
33%
Canada
33%
Haiti
33%
Australia
33%
Germany
33%
Ivory Coast
33%
Sweden
33%
The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League was the 71st edition of Europe’s premier club competition and the second played under the single-table league phase format. The structure is deliberately simple — one table for 36 clubs, then five knockout stages — but the details of qualification, seeding, discipline and tie-breaking determine who plays whom. This page sets out how the season worked.
The League Phase at a Glance
All 36 clubs shared one table. Each played eight matches against eight different opponents, four at home and four away, across eight matchdays from 16 September 2025 to 28 January 2026. That produced 144 league phase matches. Wins are worth three points, draws one, defeats nothing. The eight highest-placed clubs qualified directly for the round of 16, clubs in 9th to 24th place entered the play-off, and clubs in 25th to 36th were eliminated.
From the Knockout Play-Off to the Final
The play-off was a two-legged round for the 16 clubs finishing between 9th and 24th, played on 17/18 and 24/25 February 2026. The round of 16 (10/11 and 17/18 March) reduced the field to eight, the quarter-finals (7/8 and 14/15 April) to four, and the semi-finals (28/29 April and 5/6 May) to two finalists. The final on 30 May 2026 at the Puskás Aréna completed a season of 189 matches and 655 goals.
Every round from the play-off to the semi-finals was played home and away. Aggregate scoring decided ties; away goals do not carry separate weight. Ties level after 90 minutes in either leg are decided by extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout.
Tie-Breakers, Coefficient and Seeding
Clubs level on points in the league phase are separated by goal difference, then by goals scored, and only then by the UEFA club coefficient ranking and a drawing of lots. The coefficient also decides the four seeding pots for the following season’s draw, which is what allows clubs from smaller associations to be drawn against opponents from a comparable range of clubs in the league phase.
For the knockout rounds, seeded clubs host the second leg at home, so league phase placement is converted directly into a scheduling advantage for the teams that finish highest.
Cards, Suspensions and Squad Rules
Cautions accumulate across the campaign: a player who reaches the applicable accumulation threshold is banned for the next match. A straight red card, or a second caution in the same match, means an automatic suspension, and longer bans follow a review of the incident. Suspensions carry into the final, which frequently forces last-minute squad reshuffles in the build-up to the Budapest decider.
Extra Time, Penalties and Officiating
Two periods of fifteen minutes of extra time are played before a shootout. The shootout begins with five kicks each, taken in turn and with teams alternating ends, followed by sudden death if the totals remain level. Attempted feints and disruptive goalkeeper movement are sanctioned, and repeated offences can lead to a kick being ordered to be retaken.
Matches are refereed by a team that includes two assistant referees, a fourth official and, from the semi-finals onward, a video assistant referee. VAR is used for goals, red cards, penalties and mistaken identity, with a limited number of checks and stoppages allowed in each match.