MONACO: The European football calendar is poised for its next dramatic chapter as the UEFA Champions League draw takes place today in Monaco. A diverse cast of 36 clubs, ranging from continental heavyweights to unheralded newcomers, will learn their opponents for the newly formatted league phase. The draw, beginning at 6 p.m. local time, will set the stage for a high-stakes competition stretching from fall into the new year.
This marks the second season of the Champions League’s revamped format, which features a single-standings league table. Each team will play eight different opponents, with two drawn from each of the four seeding pots, a system designed to ensure a dynamic and unpredictable slate of matches.
The draw will pit a mix of established powerhouses and surprise entrants against each other. Titleholders Paris Saint-Germain and record 15-time champions Real Madrid will find out their schedule, while new faces like Cyprus’s Pafos and Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty will make their historic debuts. Fans can look forward to a unique clash of styles, with potential cold-weather trips to Norway’s Bodo/Glimt and the long-distance journeys to Kazakhstan.
The competition is already notable for the absence of several former giants, including AC Milan and Manchester United, who failed to qualify for this edition.
The league phase games will kick off on September 16, with the final matchday scheduled for January 28. The top eight teams will advance directly to the Round of 16, while teams ranked 9th through 24th will compete in a knockout playoff for a chance to join them.
Draw Seedings Spotlight:
- Pot 1: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
- Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge
- Pot 3: Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille
- Pot 4: Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabag, Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle, Pafos, Kairat Almaty