2017–18 UEFA Champions League

2017–18 UEFA Champions League

The NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev will host the final
Tournament details
Dates June/July – August 2017 (qualifying)
September 2017 – 26 May 2018 (competition proper)
Teams 32 (group stage)
77 or 78 or 79 (total) (from 53 or 54 associations)

The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League will be the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.

The 2018 UEFA Champions League Final will be played at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine.[1]

The winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League will qualify as the UEFA representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and also earn the right to play against the winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup.

Association team allocation

A total of 77, 78 or 79 teams from 53 of the 55 UEFA member associations are expected to participate in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League (the exception being Liechtenstein, which does not organise a domestic league; the participation of teams from Kosovo, who became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016, is to be confirmed).[3] The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[2]

Association ranking

For the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2016 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2011–12 to 2015–16.[5][6]

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:

Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1 Spain Spain 105.713 4
2 Germany Germany 80.177
3 England England 76.284
4 Italy Italy 70.439 3
5 Portugal Portugal 53.082
6 France France 52.749
7 Russia Russia 51.082 2
8 Ukraine Ukraine 44.883
9 Belgium Belgium 40.000
10 Netherlands Netherlands 35.563
11 Turkey Turkey 34.600
12 Switzerland Switzerland 33.775
13 Czech Republic Czech Republic 32.925
14 Greece Greece 29.700
15 Romania Romania 25.383
16 Austria Austria 25.100 1
17 Croatia Croatia 23.875
18 Poland Poland 22.500
19 Cyprus Cyprus 22.175
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20 Belarus Belarus 20.000 1
21 Sweden Sweden 19.875
22 Norway Norway 19.250
23 Israel Israel 18.625
24 Denmark Denmark 18.600
25 Scotland Scotland 17.300
26 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 14.875
27 Serbia Serbia 14.625
28 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 14.125
29 Bulgaria Bulgaria 13.125
30 Slovenia Slovenia 13.125
31 Slovakia Slovakia 12.000
32 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 10.500 0
33 Hungary Hungary 9.875 1
34 Moldova Moldova 9.125
35 Iceland Iceland 8.750
36 Georgia (country) Georgia 8.125
37 Finland Finland 7.400
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
38 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 7.125 1
39 Albania Albania 6.625
40 Republic of Macedonia Macedonia 6.000
41 Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland 5.450
42 Latvia Latvia 5.375
43 Luxembourg Luxembourg 5.250
44 Montenegro Montenegro 4.875
45 Lithuania Lithuania 4.625
46 Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 4.500
47 Estonia Estonia 4.250
48 Armenia Armenia 4.125
49 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 3.625
50 Malta Malta 3.583
51 Wales Wales 3.500
52 Gibraltar Gibraltar 1.000
53 Andorra Andorra 0.999
54 San Marino San Marino 0.333
55 Kosovo Kosovo 0.000 TBC

Distribution

The table below shows the default access list.[7][8]

Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round
(8 teams)
  • 8 champions from associations 47–54
Second qualifying round
(34 teams)
  • 30 champions from associations 16–46 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 4 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round Champions Route
(20 teams)
  • 3 champions from associations 13–15
  • 17 winners from the second qualifying round
League Route
(10 teams)
  • 9 runners-up from associations 7–15
  • 1 third-placed team from association 6
Play-off round Champions Route
(10 teams)
  • 10 winners from the third qualifying round (Champions Route)
League Route
(10 teams)
  • 2 third-placed teams from associations 4–5
  • 3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the third qualifying round (League Route)
Group stage
(32 teams)
  • Champions League title holders
  • 12 champions from associations 1–12
  • 6 runners-up from associations 1–6
  • 3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the play-off round (Champions Route)
  • 5 winners from the play-off round (League Route)
Knockout phase
(16 teams)
  • 8 group winners from the group stage
  • 8 group runners-up from the group stage

The access list above is provisional, as changes will be made depending on whether the Champions League and Europa League title holders qualify for the tournament via their domestic leagues. The Champions League title holders always enter directly into the group stage. The Europa League title holders also enter directly into the group stage if either they or the Champions League title holders qualify for the group stage via their domestic leagues (if both teams qualify for the group stage via their domestic leagues, the champions of association 13 enter directly into the group stage). Otherwise, the Europa League title holders enter directly the play-off round, with the route they enter depending on the Champions League title holders:

The final access list will then be adjusted accordingly, with teams entering either earlier or later into the competition in order to ensure that the group stage consists of 32 teams and the play-off round consists of 20 teams. UEFA has published a detailed document outlining several possible qualification scenarios,[9] which are also covered in the regulations (Article 3.07).[2]

Teams

League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses (CL: Champions League title holders; EL: Europa League title holders).

Group stage
(CL) Germany (3rd) Portugal (1st) Belgium (1st)
Spain (1st) England (1st) Portugal (2nd) Netherlands (1st)
Spain (2nd) England (2nd) France (1st) Turkey (1st)
Spain (3rd) England (3rd) France (2nd) Switzerland (1st)
Germany (1st) Italy (1st) Russia (1st)
Germany (2nd) Italy (2nd) Ukraine (1st)
Play-off round
Champions Route League Route
Spain (4th) England (4th) Portugal (3rd)
Germany (4th) Italy (3rd)
Third qualifying round
Champions Route League Route
Czech Republic (1st) France (3rd) Netherlands (2nd) Greece (2nd)
Greece (1st) Russia (2nd) Turkey (2nd) Romania (2nd)
Romania (1st) Ukraine (2nd) Switzerland (2nd)
Belgium (2nd) Czech Republic (2nd)
Second qualifying round
Austria (1st) Denmark (1st) Hungary (1st) Republic of Ireland Dundalk (1st)[Note IRL]
Croatia (1st) Scotland (1st) Moldova (1st) Latvia Spartaks Jūrmala (1st)
Poland (1st) Azerbaijan (1st) Iceland FH (1st) Luxembourg (1st)
Cyprus (1st) Serbia (1st) Georgia (country) (1st) Montenegro (1st)
Belarus BATE Borisov (1st) Kazakhstan Astana (1st) Finland IFK Mariehamn (1st) Lithuania Žalgiris Vilnius (1st)
Sweden Malmö FF (1st) Bulgaria (1st) Bosnia and Herzegovina (1st) Northern Ireland (1st)
Norway Rosenborg (1st) Slovenia (1st) Albania (1st)
Israel (1st) Slovakia (1st) Republic of Macedonia (1st)
First qualifying round
Estonia Infonet Tallinn (1st) Faroe Islands Víkingur Gøta (1st) Wales (1st) Andorra (1st)
Armenia (1st) Malta (1st) Gibraltar (1st) San Marino (1st)
Notes
  1. ^ Republic of Ireland (IRL): If Dundalk win the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, they will enter either the group stage or the play-off round.

Qualifying rounds

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams are divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2017 UEFA club coefficients,[10][11] and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

First qualifying round

A total of eight teams are expected to play in the first qualifying round.

Note: UEFA club coefficient (CC) at the end of 2016–17 season, which is used for seeding, is listed in italics.[10][11]

Second qualifying round

A total of 34 teams are expected to play in the second qualifying round: 30 teams which enter in this round, and the four winners of the first qualifying round.

Note: UEFA club coefficient (CC) at the end of 2016–17 season, which is used for seeding, is listed in italics.[10][11]

Third qualifying round

The third qualifying round is split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections enter the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League play-off round.

A total of 30 teams are expected to play in the third qualifying round:

Champions Route

Three teams which enter in this round, and the 17 winners of the second qualifying round.

League Route

Ten teams which enter in this round.

Play-off round

The play-off round is split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections enter the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage.

A total of 20 teams play in the play-off round:

Champions Route

The ten Champions Route winners of the third qualifying round.

League Route

Five teams which enter in this round, and the five League Route winners of the third qualifying round.

NOTE: The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League enter the play-off round if both they and the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League have not qualified for the group stage through domestic performance. Should the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League enter the play-off round, they enter:

Group stage

The 32 teams are drawn into eight groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other. For the draw, the teams are seeded into four pots based on the following principles (introduced starting 2015–16 season):[12][13]

In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams enter the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League round of 32.

The youth teams of the clubs that qualify for the group stage also participate in the 2017–18 UEFA Youth League, where they are joined by the youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations.

A total of 32 teams play in the group stage: 22 teams which enter in this stage, and the 10 winners of the play-off round (5 from Champions Route, 5 from League Route).

NOTE: The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League enter the group stage if the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League have qualified for the group stage through domestic performance.

Knockout phase

In the knockout phase, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kyiv to host 2018 Champions League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2015/16 Season" (PDF). UEFA.com. 1 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Football Federation of Kosovo joins UEFA". UEFA. 3 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "How the Europa League winners will enter the Champions League". UEFA.com. 27 February 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Country coefficients 2015/16". UEFA.com.
  6. 1 2 "UEFA Country Ranking 2016". Bert Kassies. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Preliminary Access List 2015/16" (PDF). Bert Kassies.
  8. ↑ "Access list 2015/2016". Bert Kassies.
  9. ↑ "UEFA Access List 2015/18 with explanations" (PDF). Bert Kassies.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Club coefficients". UEFA.com.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "UEFA Team Ranking 2017". Bert Kassies.
  12. ↑ "Champions League: Domestic title winners to receive top-seed status". BBC Sport. 9 October 2014.
  13. ↑ "Champions' bonus for group stage draw". UEFA.com. 24 April 2015.

External links

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