According to the initial plan, 84 teams will be allowed into the 2026-2027 season of the UEFA Champions League.
Medianews.az reports that the champions of Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Ireland, Moldova, Iceland, Bosnia, Armenia, Latvia, Kosovo, Finland, Kazakhstan, Faroe Islands, Malta, Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Estonia, Albania, Montenegro, Luxembourg, Wales, Georgia, North Macedonia, Belarus, Andorra, Gibraltar, San Marino will start the tournament from the first qualifying round.
If Russia, which has been under sanctions since 2022, is again excluded from the season, the scheme will be updated.
In the second round of the champions path, champions of Poland, Denmark, Switzerland, Israel, Cyprus, Sweden, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine will participate, and in the league path, the silver medalists of Turkey, Norway, Greece, Austria, Scotland, and Poland will be present.
The league path of the third round will invite the fourth-placed team of France, the bronze medalist of the Netherlands, and the silver medalists of Portugal, Belgium, and the Czech Republic.
The champions path of the fourth round will include the champions of Norway, Greece, Austria, and Scotland.
Those eliminated in the first round will move to the Conference League, and those eliminated in the remaining rounds will transfer to the Europa League.
From England, 5 teams, from Italy, Spain, and Germany, 4 each, from France 3, from the Netherlands 2, and from Portugal, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Turkey, 1 team each will start in the league phase.
Based on the coefficient table of the 2025-2026 season, Spain, Germany, or Portugal will have the opportunity to send one more representative to the league phase.
The winners of the 2025-2026 season of the Champions League and Europa League will also be admitted to the league phase; however, if these teams qualify through their domestic league results, adjustments will be made in the scheme accordingly.
In the 36-team league phase, the top 8 will qualify for the round of 16, and teams finishing in positions 9-24 will qualify for the round of 32.
Since 1955, the Champions League, called the European Champion Clubs' Cup until 1992, has seen “Real” win 15 titles, “Milan” 7, “Bayern” and “Liverpool” 6, “Barcelona” 5, “Ajax” 4, “Inter” (Italy) and “Manchester United” 3, “Benfica”, “Nottingham Forest”, “Juventus”, “Porto” and “Chelsea” 2, and “Celtic”, “Feyenoord”, “Aston Villa”, “Hamburg”, “Steaua”, PSV, “Red Star Belgrade”, “Marseille”, “Borussia” (Dortmund), “Manchester City” and PSG 1 title each.
Toğrul Ali,
Medianews.az