The landscape of European club football for the 2026-27 season is taking shape, with 29 of the 36 coveted league phase spots in the UEFA Champions LeagueCompetition·Champions League now confirmed. The remaining seven places will be determined through a series of rigorous qualifying rounds, culminating in late August.
This upcoming season marks a significant evolution for Europe's premier club competition, introducing an expanded 36-team league phase. Under the new format, each club will play eight matches against eight different opponents. The top eight teams from this league phase will automatically advance to the Round of 16, while teams finishing from ninth to 24th will compete in knockout phase play-offs to secure their passage.
A notable aspect of the qualification process for 2026-27 is the allocation of additional European Performance Spots (EPS). England and Spain each earned an extra league phase berth, a direct result of their clubs' collective strong performances in UEFA men's club competitions during the recently concluded 2025-26 season. This system rewards the two associations with the highest club coefficients, ensuring that consistent excellence across European tournaments translates into more opportunities for their domestic leagues.
Among the beneficiaries of these new provisions, LiverpoolTeam·Liverpool secured their place by finishing fifth in the Premier LeagueCompetition·Premier League, leveraging England's additional spot. Similarly, Real BetisTeam·Real Betis, who finished fifth in La LigaCompetition·La Liga, claimed Spain's extra berth. The qualification paths also saw some intriguing developments through titleholder rebalancing. Paris Saint-GermainTeam·Paris Saint-Germain, having won the 2025-26 UEFA Champions LeagueCompetition·Champions League, also qualified via their domestic league, freeing up their automatic spot. This was reallocated to OlympiacosTeam·Olympiacos, allowing the Greek side to enter the league phase directly. Furthermore, Aston VillaTeam·Aston Villa's triumph in the 2025-26 UEFA Europa LeagueCompetition·Europa League, coupled with their league finish, led to Sporting CPTeam·Sporting CP gaining a direct league phase spot.
Confirmed qualifiers for the 2026-27 UEFA Champions LeagueCompetition·Champions League league phase include:
England:* ArsenalTeam·Arsenal, Manchester CityTeam·Manchester City, Manchester UnitedTeam·Manchester United, Aston VillaTeam·Aston Villa, LiverpoolTeam·Liverpool Spain:* Atlético Madrid, BarcelonaTeam·Barcelona, Real BetisTeam·Real Betis, Real MadridTeam·Real Madrid, VillarrealTeam·Villarreal Italy:* ComoTeam·Como, Internazionale, Napoli, AS Roma Germany:* Bayern MunichTeam·Bayern Munich, Borussia DortmundTeam·Borussia Dortmund, RB LeipzigTeam·RB Leipzig, VfB StuttgartTeam·VfB Stuttgart France:* Paris Saint-GermainTeam·Paris Saint-Germain, RC LensTeam·Lens, LOSC Lille Netherlands:* FeyenoordTeam·Feyenoord, PSV EindhovenTeam·PSV Eindhoven Portugal:* FC PortoTeam·FC Porto, Sporting CPTeam·Sporting CP Belgium:* Club BruggeTeam·Club Brugge Czechia:* Slavia PragueTeam·Slavia Prague Turkiye:* GalatasarayTeam·Galatasaray Ukraine:* Shakhtar DonetskTeam·Shakhtar Donetsk Greece:* OlympiacosTeam·Olympiacos
Notably, ComoTeam·Como will make their debut in the Champions LeagueCompetition·Champions League after securing a top-four finish in Serie A, marking a historic moment for the Italian club. The draw for the league phase pairings is scheduled for August 27 in Monte Carlo, setting the stage for the competition's commencement.
The league phase itself is set to begin between September 8-10, 2026, and will conclude with simultaneous matches on January 27, 2027. The knockout stages will then commence with play-offs in February, followed by the Round of 16 in March. The journey to European glory will culminate in the final, scheduled for Saturday, June 5, 2027, at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain.
Bukayo Saka of Arsenal during the UEFA Champions League final in Budapest. Credit: Bildbyran/IMAGO
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