Champions League Draw Scheduled for August 28 in Monaco

MONACO — The draw for the league phase of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League will take place on Thursday, August 28, at 6 p.m. BST (12 p.m. ET) at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. This event marks a key moment in the tournament, as 36 teams, including reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, learn their opponents for the upcoming phase.

Currently, 29 of the 36 teams have qualified for the league phase. England leads with six representatives, followed by Spain with five. Other countries like Italy and Germany each contribute four teams to the competition.

The draw will follow last year’s format, where teams are divided into four pots based on their UEFA coefficient rankings. Each team will face two opponents from each of the four pots across eight matches, with fixtures starting on September 16 and concluding by January 28, 2026.

During the draw, teams from the same country cannot be matched against each other. This means clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea, both from the Premier League, will not face each other in the group phase.

Matchdays are designed to take place over eight weeks, with games starting at either 12:55 p.m. ET or 3 p.m. ET. The fixtures for these games are expected to be released by August 30.

Following the league phase, the top eight clubs will automatically advance to the knockout stage, while those finishing from ninth to 24th will enter a two-legged playoff for the remaining spots.

The knockout playoff draw is set for January 30, 2026, leading to the Round of 16 and other knockout stages scheduled for the following months.