*Champions League first league phase matches 8-10 Sept
This season’s (2026/27) Champions League league phase draw will be held on Thursday, 27 August, while the Europa League and Conference League league phase draws take place on Friday, 28 August.
The final match to decide the winner of this season’s Champions League will be held in Spain at Atletico Madrid’s wonderful Estadio Metropolitano on Saturday 5 June, 2027.
A news alert from European football governing body, UEFA, sighted by People&Politics, which disclosed these, showed that 36 teams will be involved in each of the draws.
While the Champions League draw will feature 29 automatic qualifiers and seven play-off round winners, the Europa League draw comprises 13 automatic qualifiers, 12 play-off round winners, four teams transferring from the Champions League third qualifying round (league path) and the seven defeated sides in the Champions League play-offs.
On its part, the Conference League draw will involve 24 play-off round winners and the 12 defeated sides from the Europa League play-offs.
Teams in the Champions League and Europa League will be drawn to face eight opponents in the league phase on a four games at home, four away basis.
From Saturday this week (29 August), UEFA will communicate on the Champions League fixture list with exact match dates and kick-off times, while those for Europa League and Conference League are expected to be no later than Sunday, 30 August.
How The Matches Will Go
On how the competitions will shape up this season, UEFA stated that since the start of the 2024/25 season, all three competitions have been formulated along a single 36-team league phase.
It explained that in the Champions League and Europa League, each side faces eight different teams with none facing a team from its own country, while in the Conference League, each club faces six different teams (three at home, three away).
To qualify for the next round/stage, in all three competitions, the top eight overall advance directly to the Round of 16.
Sides finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the victors going through to the last 16.
From then on it is a straight knockout.
Teams that finish 25th or lower in the league phase of all three competitions will be eliminated from Europe, with no access to other tournaments.
Schedule Of League Phase Matches For 2026/27 Champions League:
*Matchday 1: 8–10 September 2026
*Matchday 2: 13/14 October 2026
*Matchday 3: 20/21 October 2026
*Matchday 4: 3/4 November 2026
*Matchday 5: 24/25 November 2026
*Matchday 6: 8/9 December 2026
*Matchday 7: 19/20 January 2027
*Matchday 8: 27 January 2027
*PHOTO CAPTION: The Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, venue of this season’s Champions League final.
