There is a new format in the UEFA Champions League for the 2026-2027 season.
Medianews.az reports that the champions of Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Ireland, Moldova, Iceland, Bosnia, Armenia, Latvia, Kosovo, Finland, Kazakhstan, Faroe Islands, Malta, Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Estonia, Albania, Montenegro, Luxembourg, Wales, Georgia, North Macedonia, Belarus, Andorra, Gibraltar, and San Marino will start the tournament from the first qualifying round.
In the second qualifying round, on the champions path, the champions of Poland, Denmark, Switzerland, Israel, Cyprus, Sweden, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia, and on the league path, the silver medalists of Turkey, Norway, Greece, Austria, Scotland, and Poland will enter.
In the third qualifying round’s league path, the fourth-placed team of the French championship, the bronze medalist of the Netherlands, and the silver medalists of Portugal, Belgium, and the Czech Republic are introduced.
In the fourth qualifying round’s champions path, the champions of Norway, Greece, Austria, and Scotland will compete.
England and Spain will have 5 teams each, Italy and Germany 4 each, France 3, the Netherlands 2, and Portugal, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Ukraine 1 team each waiting for their opponents in the league stage.
The winner of the 2025-2026 Europa League also starts at the league stage, but if that team qualifies also by their domestic league position, the format will change.
The final of the 2025-2026 Europa League will be held on May 20: “Freiburg” – “Aston Villa.” For the format to be updated, “Aston Villa” must win.
Teams eliminated in the first qualifying round will move to the Conference League, and those eliminated in subsequent rounds will move to the Europa League.
In the 36-team league stage, the top 8 will qualify for the Round of 16, while those placed 9th to 24th will qualify for the Round of 32.
The Champions League, played since 1955 and called the European Champion Clubs' Cup until 1992, has seen “Real” with 15 titles, “Milan” 7, “Bayern” and “Liverpool” 6, “Barcelona” 5, “Ajax” 4, “Inter” (Italy) and “Manchester United” 3, “Benfica,” “Nottingham Forest,” “Juventus,” “Porto,” and “Chelsea” 2, while “Celtic,” “Feyenoord,” “Aston Villa,” “Hamburg,” “Steaua,” PSV, “Red Star Belgrade,” “Marseille,” “Borussia” (Dortmund), “Manchester City,” and PSG have 1 title each.