2025–26 UEFA Champions League qualifying was the preliminary phase of the2025–26 UEFA Champions League, prior to the competition proper. Qualification consisted of the qualifying phase (first to third rounds) and the play-off round. It began on 8 July and ended on 27 August 2025.[1]
A total of 53 teams competed in the qualifying system of the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League, with 42 teams in Champions Path and 11 teams in League Path. The seven winners in the play-off round (five from Champions Path, two from League Path) advanced to theleague phase, to join the 29 teams that entered in the league stage.[2]
Times areCEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
The qualifying phase and play-off round will be split into two paths – the Champions Path and the League Path. The Champions Path will contain teams which qualified as the winners of their domestic league, and the League Path will contain teams which qualified as runners-up, third-placed or fourth-placed teams from their domestic league.
Each tie will be played overtwo legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the next round. If the aggregate score is level at the end of normal time of the second leg,extra time will be played, and if the same number of goals is scored by both teams during extra time, the tie will be determined by apenalty shoot-out.[3]
In the draws for each round, teams will be seeded based on theirUEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round may not be known at the time of the draws, the seeding will be carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to the subsequent round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient advances, it will simply take the seeding of its opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee purely for the convenience of the draw and not to resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA cannot be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie may be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.
The Champions Path includes all league champions which did not qualify directly for the league phase, and consists of the following rounds:
First qualifying round (28 teams): 28 teams which entered in this round.
Second qualifying round (24 teams): 10 teams which entered in this round, and 14 winners of the first qualifying round.
Third qualifying round (12 teams): 12 winners of the second qualifying round.
Play-off round (10 teams): 4 teams which enter in this round, and 6 winners of the third qualifying round.
The default access list could be altered based on the qualifying teams' 2025UEFA club coefficients should the winners of the2024–25 UEFA Champions League also have qualified for the 2025–26 edition via their domestic league.
A total of 28 teams played in the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their2025 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA allocated the teams into three groups, two with five seeded and five unseeded teams and one with four seeded and four unseeded team per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.[5] The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
A total of 30 teams played in the second qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their2025 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA allocated the teams into three groups of four seeded teams and four unseeded teams in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.[67] The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
† Winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams initalics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
† Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams initalics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
The first legs were played on 5 and 6 August, and the second legs were played on 12 August 2025.
The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round. The losers of the Champions Path were transferred to theEuropa League play-off round. The losers of the League Path were transferred to theEuropa League league phase.
The draw for the play-off round was held on 4 August 2025. The first legs were played on 19 and 20 August, and the second legs were played on 26 and 27 August.
A total of 14 teams played in the play-off round. Seeding of the teams was based on their2025 UEFA club coefficients.[4] The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
† Winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams initalics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
^Hamrun Spartans played their Champions League first qualifying round home match at the Centenary Stadium, in Ta' Qali, instead of their regular venue, theVictor Tedesco Stadium, inHamrun, which did not meetUEFA requirements.
^abcShkëndija played their home matches at the Toše Proeski Arena in Skopje, instead of their regular stadium, theEcolog Arena, inTetovo, due to renovation works.[16]
^abDrita played their home matches at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina, instead of their regular stadium, theGjilan City Stadium, inGjilan, due to renovation works.[27]
^Víkingur Gøta played their home match at Við Djúpumýrar in Klaksvík, instead of their regular stadium,Sarpugerði, inNorðragøta, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^abLincoln Red Imps played their home matches at Europa Sports Park, instead of theVictoria Stadium, due to renovation works.[34]
^FCSB played their home match at the Steaua Stadium, instead of their regular stadium, theArena Națională, as it was being used for the Neversea Kapital music festival.[45]
^Hamrun Spartans played their Champions League second qualifying round home match at the Tony Bezzina Stadium, in Paola, instead of their regular venue, theVictor Tedesco Stadium, inHamrun, which did not meetUEFA requirements.
^abDue to theRussian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[74]
^abcPafos played their home matches at the Alphamega Stadium in Limassol, instead of their regular stadium, theStelios Kyriakides Stadium, inPaphos, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^Due to theGaza war, Israeli teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[79]
^Sturm Graz played their home matches at Wörthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, instead of their regular stadium,Liebenauer Stadium inGraz, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
Note: In 1991–92, the competition was still known as the European Cup, but is included as it was the first to use a group stage format. In that season and 1992–93, there was no knockout phase between the group stage and final.
Hamrun Spartans
Milsami Orhei
Shkëndija
Malmö FF
RFS
Differdange 03
Lincoln Red Imps
Breiðablik
Linfield
Inter Club d'Escaldes
Zrinjski Mostar
Kairat
Budućnost Podgorica
Dinamo Minsk
Dynamo Kyiv
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Red Star Belgrade
Ferencváros
Qarabağ
Red Bull Salzburg
Servette
Panathinaikos
Club Brugge
Benfica
Fenerbahçe
