2023–24 UEFA Champions League
The 2023–24 UEFA Champions League will be the 69th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 32nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
 Wembley Stadium in London will host the final | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 27 June – 30 August 2023 Competition proper: 19 September 2023 – 1 June 2024 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 79 (from 53 associations) |
The final will be played at Wembley Stadium in London, England.[1] The winner of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League will automatically qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League's league stage, and also earn the right to play against the winner of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League in the 2024 UEFA Super Cup.
This edition will be the final season with the current format of 32 teams participating at the group stage, after UEFA announced that a brand new format would be introduced for the following edition.[2]
Association team allocation
A total of 80 teams from 53 of the 55 UEFA member associations are set to participate in the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League (the exceptions being Liechtenstein,[Note LIE] which does not organise a domestic league and Russia[Note RUS]). The association ranking based on the UEFA association coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[3]
- Associations 1–4 each have four teams qualify.
- Associations 5–6 each have three teams qualify.
- Associations 7–15 (except Russia)[Note RUS] each have two teams qualify.
- Associations 16–55 (except Liechtenstein)[Note LIE] each have one team qualify.
- The winners of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League and 2022–23 UEFA Europa League are each given an additional entry if they do not qualify for the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league.
Association ranking
For the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2022 UEFA association coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2017–18 to 2021–22.[4] The team allocation reflects Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.
Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:
- (UEL) – Additional berth for UEFA Europa League title holders
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Distribution
The following is the default access list for the 2023–24 season.[5]
| Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round (4 teams) |
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| First qualifying round (32 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round (24 teams) |
Champions Path (20 teams) |
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| League Path (4 teams) |
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| Third qualifying round (20 teams) |
Champions Path (12 teams) |
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| League Path (8 teams) |
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| Play-off round (12 teams) |
Champions Path (8 teams) |
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| League Path (4 teams) |
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| Group stage (32 teams) |
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| Knockout phase (16 teams) |
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Due to the suspension of Russia for the 2023–24 European season, the following changes to the access list have been made:
- The champions of association 11 (Serbia) enter the group stage instead of the play-off round (Champions Path).
- The champions of association 13 (Belgium) enter the play-off round instead of the third qualifying round (Champions Path).
- The champions of association 15 (Greece) enter the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round (Champions Path).
- The champions of associations 18 (Denmark) and 19 (Croatia) enter the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round (Champions Path).
- The runner-up of association 11 (Serbia) enter the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round (League Path).
Should the Champions League title holders also qualify via their domestic league, the following changes to the access list will be made:
- The champions of association 12 (Ukraine) enter the group stage instead of the play-off round (Champions Path).
- The champions of association 14 (Switzerland) enter the play-off round instead of the third qualifying round (Champions Path).
- The champions of association 16 (Czech Republic) enter the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round (Champions Path).
- The champions of associations 20 (Turkey) and 21 (Cyprus) enter the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round (Champions Path).
Should the Europa League title holders also qualify via their domestic league, the following changes to the access list will be made:
- The third-placed team of association 5 (France) enter the group stage instead of the third qualifying round (League Path).
- The runners-up of associations 12 (Ukraine) and 13 (Belgium) enter the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round (League Path).
Teams
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
- TH: Champions League title holders
- EL: Europa League title holders
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th: League positions of the previous season
The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round are divided into Champions Path (CH) and League Path (LP).
Notes
- ^ Austria (AUT): Red Bull Salzburg have qualified for the Champions League as they will finish in the top two of the 2022-23 Austrian Bundesliga.
- ^ Belarus (BLR): Shakhtyor Soligorsk would have qualified as champions of the 2022 Belarusian Premier League but were found guilty of match-fixing by the ABFF and denied a UEFA license. Runners-up Energetik-BGU Minsk were also found guilty of match-fixing and also denied a UEFA license. As a result, the Football Federation of Belarus decided to award the Champions League spot to BATE Borisov, who finished 3rd in the league.[6]
- ^ France (FRA): Paris Saint-Germain and Lens have qualified for the Champions League as they will finish in the top three of 2022–23 Ligue 1.
- ^ Italy (ITA): The 4th-placed team may qualify for the Europa League group stage instead if Inter Milan win the Champions League and Roma or Juventus win the Europa League and both of the winners finish outside the top four of Serie A.
- ^ Liechtenstein (LIE): The seven teams affiliated with the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) all play in the Swiss football league system. The only competition organised by the LFV is the Liechtenstein Football Cup – the winners of which qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League.
- ^ Portugal (POR): Porto have qualified for the Champions League as they will finish in the top three of the 2022–23 Primeira Liga.
- ^ Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[7] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[8]
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[9][10][11] All matches are played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays apart from the preliminary round final and the final.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | 13 June 2023 | 27 June 2023 (semi-finals) | 30 June 2023 (final) |
| First qualifying round | 20 June 2023 | 11–12 July 2023 | 18–19 July 2023 | |
| Second qualifying round | 21 June 2023 | 25–26 July 2023 | 1–2 August 2023 | |
| Third qualifying round | 24 July 2023 | 8–9 August 2023 | 15 August 2023 | |
| Play-offs | Play-off round | 7 August 2023 | 22–23 August 2023 | 29–30 August 2023 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 31 August 2023 | 19–20 September 2023 | |
| Matchday 2 | 3–4 October 2023 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 24–25 October 2023 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 7–8 November 2023 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 28–29 November 2023 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 12–13 December 2023 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 16 | 18 December 2023 | 13–14 & 20–21 February 2024 | 5–6 & 12–13 March 2024 |
| Quarter-finals | 15 March 2024 | 9–10 April 2024 | 16–17 April 2024 | |
| Semi-finals | 30 April – 1 May 2024 | 7–8 May 2024 | ||
| Final | 1 June 2024 at Wembley Stadium, London | |||
Qualifying rounds
Preliminary round
A total of four teams will play in the preliminary round. Seeding of teams will be based on their 2023 UEFA club coefficients,[12] with two seeded teams and two unseeded teams in the semi-finals. The matches will take place at a central venue so the first team drawn in each tie in the semi-finals, and also the final (between the two winners of the semi-finals, whose identity was not known at the time of draw), will be the "home" team for administrative purposes.
| Seeded | Unseeded |
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First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round will be held on 20 June 2023.
| Seeded | Seeding to be confirmed | Unseeded |
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- Notes
- † Winner of the preliminary round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
The first legs will be played on 11–12 July, and the second legs will be played on 18–19 July 2023.
The winners of the ties will advance to the Champions Path second qualifying round. 15 of the 16 losers will be transferred to the Europa Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round and 1 loser will receive a bye and be transferred to the Europa Conference League Champions Path third qualifying round.
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round will be held on 21 June 2023.
| Seeded | Seeding to be confirmed | Unseeded |
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- Notes
- † winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
| Seeding to be confirmed | Unseeded |
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The first legs will be played on 25–26 July, and the second legs will be played on 1–2 August 2023.
The winners of the ties will advance to the third qualifying round of their respective path. The Champions Path losers were transferred to the Europa League Champions Path third qualifying round, while the League Path losers were transferred to the Europa League Main Path third qualifying round.
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round will be held on 24 July 2023.
| Seeded | Seeding to be confirmed |
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| Seeding to be confirmed |
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- Notes
- † Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity will not known at the time of draw.
The first legs will be played on 8–9 August and the second legs will be played on 15 August 2023.
The winners of the ties will advance to the play-off round of their respective path. The Champions Path losers will be transferred to the Europa League play-off round, while the League Path losers will be transferred to the Europa League group stage.
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round will be held on 7 August 2023.
| Seeding to be confirmed |
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| Seeding to be confirmed |
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- Notes
- † Winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
The first legs will be played on 22–23 August, and the second legs will be played on 29–30 August 2023.
The winners of the ties will advance to the group stage. The losers will be transferred to the Europa League group stage.
Group stage
The draw for the group stage will be held on 31 August 2023. The 32 teams will be drawn into eight groups of four. For the draw, the teams will be seeded into four pots, each of eight teams, based on the following principles:
- Pot 1 contained the Champions League and Europa League title holders, and the champions of the top six associations based on their 2022 UEFA country coefficients.
- Pots 2, 3 and 4 contained the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2023 UEFA club coefficients (CC).[13]
Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.
Pot 1
- Winners of 2022–23 UEFA Champions League
- Winners of 2022–23 UEFA Europa League
Champions of the 2022–23 Premier League
Barcelona 98.000
Napoli 81.000
Champions of the 2022–23 Bundesliga
Champions of the 2022–23 Ligue 1
Champions of the 2022–23 Primeira Liga
Pot 1 or 2
- Manchester City ≥143.000
- Bayern Munich 136.000
Pot 1, 2 or 3
- Borussia Dortmund 86.000
- Benfica 82.000
- Arsenal 76.000
Pot 1, 2, 3 or 4
Feyenoord 51.000
Pot 2
- Real Madrid 121.000
Pot 2, 3 or 4
Red Star Belgrade 42.000
Celtic 31.000- Third place of the 2022–23 Premier League
- Fourth place of the 2022–23 Premier League
- Third place of the 2022–23 La Liga
- Fourth place of the 2022–23 La Liga
- Runners-up of the 2022–23 Serie A
- Third place of the 2022–23 Serie A
- Fourth place of the 2022–23 Serie A
- Third place of the 2022–23 Bundesliga
- Fourth place of the 2022–23 Bundesliga
- Runners-up of the 2022–23 Ligue 1
- Runners-up of the 2022–23 Primeira Liga
Champions of the 2022–23 Austrian Football Bundesliga- 4 winners from the Champions Path
- 2 winners from the League Path
Final
TBD  | v | TBD |
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See also
References
- "Champions League final hosts for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024". UEFA. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- "UEFA approves final format and access list for its club competitions as of the 2024/25 season". UEFA.com. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League, 2023/24 Season". Nyon: UEFA. 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- "Association coefficients 2021/22". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- "Access list 2021–24" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- "БАТЭ не стане чэмпіёнам Беларусі, але будзе заяўляцца ў Лігу чэмпіёнаў" [BATE will not become the champion of Belarus, but will enter the Champions League] (in Belarusian). Tribuna. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC.co.uk. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs" (Press release). Nyon: UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- "2023/24 UEFA Champions League: Matches, final, key dates". UEFA. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- "International match calendar and access list for the 2023/24 season". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 65/2022. Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- "2023 European football calendar: Match and draw dates for all UEFA competitions". UEFA. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- "Club coefficients". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- "UEFA 5-year Club Ranking 2023". kassiesa.bet.