Overview

• UEFA is assigning each of the 36 clubs eight opponents via a hybrid balls-and-software draw from four pots of nine teams, yielding eight matches per club with four at home and four away.
• The competitive pathway remains: the top eight in the league table advance directly to the round of 16, places 9–24 enter a two‑leg playoff, and teams ranked 25–36 are eliminated with no Europa League fallback.
• The league phase runs 16 September to 28 January with the opening round spread across Tuesday, Wednesday and an exceptional Thursday, followed by playoffs in February, knockouts from March to May and the final on 30 May 2026 at Budapest’s Puskás Arena.
• UEFA has confirmed the Champions League final will kick off at 18:00 from this edition, a change president Aleksander Ceferin says is aimed at improving fan experience, transport access and global broadcast reach.
• Logistics and fixture diversity are in focus, with far‑flung qualifiers such as Kairat Almaty posing long‑haul travel and a new rule preventing the same club from hosting the same matchup three seasons in a row.