2017–18 UEFA Champions League

Association team allocation

A total of 78, 79 or 80 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations are expected to participate in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League (the exception being Liechtenstein, which does not organise a domestic league). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:

Kosovo, who became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016, will make their debut in the UEFA Champions League, as long as their club pass the licensing requirements.

Association ranking

For the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2016 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2011–12 to 2015–16.

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:

Distribution

The table below shows the default access list.

The access list above is provisional, as changes will be made depending on whether the Champions League and Europa League title holders qualify for the tournament via their domestic leagues. The Champions League title holders always enter directly into the group stage. The Europa League title holders also enter directly into the group stage if either they or the Champions League title holders qualify for the group stage via their domestic leagues (if both teams qualify for the group stage via their domestic leagues, the champions of association 13 enter directly into the group stage). Otherwise, the Europa League title holders enter directly the play-off round, with the route they enter depending on the Champions League title holders:

The final access list will then be adjusted accordingly, with teams entering either earlier or later into the competition in order to ensure that the group stage consists of 32 teams and the play-off round consists of 20 teams. UEFA has published a detailed document outlining several possible qualification scenarios, which are also covered in the regulations (Article 3.07).

Teams

League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses (CL: Champions League title holders; EL: Europa League title holders).

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).

Qualifying rounds

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams are divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2017 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

First qualifying round

A total of ten teams are expected to play in the first qualifying round.

Note: UEFA club coefficient (CC) at the end of 2016–17 season, which is used for seeding, is listed in italics.

Second qualifying round

A total of 34 teams are expected to play in the second qualifying round: 29 teams which enter in this round, and the five winners of the first qualifying round.

Note: UEFA club coefficient (CC) at the end of 2016–17 season, which is used for seeding, is listed in italics.

Third qualifying round

The third qualifying round is split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections enter the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League play-off round.

A total of 30 teams are expected to play in the third qualifying round:

Champions Route

Three teams which enter in this round, and the 17 winners of the second qualifying round.

League Route

Ten teams which enter in this round.

Play-off round

The play-off round is split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections enter the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage.

A total of 20 teams play in the play-off round:

Champions Route

The ten Champions Route winners of the third qualifying round.

League Route

Five teams which enter in this round, and the five League Route winners of the third qualifying round.

NOTE: The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League enter the play-off round if both they and the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League have not qualified for the group stage through domestic performance. Should the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League enter the play-off round, they enter:

Group stage

The 32 teams are drawn into eight groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other. For the draw, the teams are seeded into four pots based on the following principles (introduced starting 2015–16 season):

In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams enter the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League round of 32.

The youth teams of the clubs that qualify for the group stage also participate in the 2017–18 UEFA Youth League, where they are joined by the youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations.

A total of 32 teams play in the group stage: 22 teams which enter in this stage, and the 10 winners of the play-off round (5 from Champions Route, 5 from League Route).

NOTE: The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League enter the group stage if the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League have qualified for the group stage through domestic performance.

Knockout phase

In the knockout phase, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows: