UEFA has officially finalized the list of 36 qualified teams for the 2026/27 Champions League league phase following the conclusion of the playoff round.
The European governing body confirmed that the traditional format of eight independent four-team groups has been retired in favor of a single unified league table.
Under the revamped structure, every club will compete in eight unique matches against eight different opponents, playing four games at home and four away, to determine qualification for the knockout rounds.
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England and Spain lead the tournament with five teams each, after their clubs secured direct qualification through domestic league positions or navigated the preliminary playoff phase.
The English Premier League contingent features Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United.
Spain's LaLiga representation comprises Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona, Real Betis, Real Madrid, and Villarreal. Real Betis provides the sole Chilean presence in the tournament under manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Pellegrini, a veteran Chilean coach who previously won the Premier League title with Manchester City, leads the Seville-based club into the expanded European competition.
Qualified teams across Europe
Germany's Bundesliga supplies four teams to the league phase: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and VfB Stuttgart. Italy's Serie A also fields four contenders, with Como, Inter, Napoli, and Roma entering the competition.
Italian side Como return to top-tier continental action following a notable rise in domestic football, joining established European stalwarts Inter and Napoli.
France's Ligue 1 is represented by three clubs: Lens, Lille, and Paris Saint-Germain. Meanwhile, two teams each qualified from the Dutch Eredivisie, Portuguese Primeira Liga, Turkish Süper Lig, and Norwegian Eliteserien.
Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven represent the Netherlands, while Porto and Sporting Lisbon carry the banner for Portugal. Turkey's Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray earned their places alongside Norwegian sides Bodø/Glimt and Viking.
Seven additional clubs from across the continent completed the 36-team lineup. Shakhtar of Ukraine, Club Brugge of Belgium, Slavia Prague of the Czech Republic, Sabah of Azerbaijan, LASK of Austria, AEK Athens of Greece, and Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia secured their spots.
Official draw pots and seeding
UEFA has organized the 36 qualified clubs into four official seeding pots of nine teams each, determined strictly by UEFA coefficient rankings.
Pot 1 features European football royalty including Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. In contrast, Pot 4 includes surprise qualification entries such as Italian side Como and Azerbaijani club Sabah.
The UEFA coefficient is a ranking metric used by European football's governing body to seed clubs in continent-wide competitions based on their historical performance in European tournaments over previous seasons.
Automated draw procedure in Nyon
The official tournament draw will take place on Thursday, August 27 in Nyon. Rather than traditional manual ball draws, UEFA will use an automated software system to randomly assign eight unique opponents to each club.
The computerized draw will establish four home fixtures and four away fixtures for every team, launching the inaugural macro-table phase of the competition.
