UEFA has confirmed that the draw for the 2026–27 Champions League league phase will be held on Thursday, August 27, at its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The draw is set to get under way at 5 p.m. BST (12 p.m. ET) and will be streamed live on UEFA’s official website and YouTube channel.
Thirty of the 36 clubs have already booked their places in the league phase through their domestic performances during the 2025–26 season, with the remaining six spots to be decided through the qualifying playoffs in August.
England will again have the strongest representation, with six Premier League clubs going straight into the league phase. Spain follows with five teams, while Germany, Italy and France each contribute four sides.
Notable returnees include Manchester United, Aston Villa, Roma, Real Betis, Lille and Shakhtar Donetsk, all of whom are back in the competition after missing previous editions. Italian club Como will be making their Champions League debut after qualifying for the first time in the club’s history.
Confirmed clubs for the 2026–27 Champions League draw:
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Real Betis, Villarreal, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Inter Milan, Roma, Como, Paris Saint-Germain, Lens, Lille, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord, Sporting CP, Galatasaray, Slavia Prague, Porto, Club Brugge and Shakhtar Donetsk.
The competition will continue with the revamped league phase format introduced last season, in which each of the 36 clubs plays eight matches against eight different opponents drawn from four seeding pots — four at home and four away.
At the end of the league phase, the top eight sides will advance directly to the round of 16. Teams finishing between ninth and 24th will face a two-legged knockout play-off for the remaining last-16 places, while those outside the top 24 will be eliminated.
The league phase opens earlier than last season, with Matchday One scheduled for September 8 to 10, 2026, before concluding on January 27, 2027.
The 2026–27 Champions League final will be staged on June 5, 2027, at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid — the venue’s second final, having previously hosted the 2019 showpiece between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.