Football

The qualification phase for the coming season’s UEFA Champions League has reached the final round.

Read more Iranian Gambling Network Accused of Using Crypto to Bypass Sanctions

A total of fourteen clubs enter the playoff round for the right to claim a place in the 2026/27 league phase of the tournament. The final few of those will be decided by the third round of qualifying.

These two-legged ties will take place in August before the draw for the league phase is held on August 27.

Below is the full schedule for the playoffs as confirmed on August 3.

MORE: Full predictions for this season’s Champions League proper

Champions League playoff draw

The draw for the 2026/27 Champions League playoffs was held on August 3 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Fourteen teams entered this phase of qualifying: 10 via the champions path, and four through the league path. The first path contains teams that entered qualifying after winning their domestic league, while the smaller league path is for those sides who qualified via their domestic league finish in those nations with more than one Champions League place.

Ten of the playoff participants are yet to be determined. They will be decided by the third round of qualifying, matches for which take place in the week beginning August 3 and August 10.

Read more City Of Dreams Sri Lanka Posts EBITDA Gain For John Keells In Second Quarter

Champions League playoff draw 2026/27

• Levski Sofia (BUL) OR Kairat Almaty (KAZ) vs. AEK Athens (GRE)
• Celtic (SCO) vs. LASK (AUT)
• GNK Dinamo (CRO) OR Zalgiris (LIT) vs. Viking (NOR)
• Mjallby (SWE) OR Slovan Bratislava (SVK) vs. Ararat-Armenia (ARM) OR Celje (SVN)
• Hapoel Be’er-Sheva (ISR) OR Red Star Belgrade (SRB) vs. Aarhus (DEN) OR Sabah (AZE)
• Fenerbahce (TUR) OR Sturm Graz (AUT) vs. Sparta Prague (CZE) OR Lyon (FRA)
• Olympiacos (GRE) OR NEC (NED) vs. Union SG (BEL) OR Bodo/Glimt (NOR)

Champions League playoff schedule

The first legs of the playoffs will be held on August 18/19.

The second legs take place a week later on August 25 and 26, the day before the draw for the league phase.

The below tables will be updated once UEFA has confirmed kickoff dates and times.

Can teams drop into the Europa League from the playoffs?

Yes. All teams defeated at this stage of Champions League qualifying will drop automatically into the league phase of the Europa League.

This is the last such opportunity, though. Once the Champions League league phase begins, no team eliminated at any further stage — for instance, at the end of the league phase, or by losing a knockout playoff — will drop into the Europa League.

When is the draw for the Champions League league phase?

The league-phase draw will be held the day after the playoff second legs, on August 27. It usually starts at 12 p.m. CET (6 a.m. ET) and will this year be staged in Monaco.

Read more City Of Dreams Sri Lanka Posts EBITDA Gain For John Keells In Second Quarter