Overview

• The 36-club field is finalized into four pots of nine for today’s draw at 12 p.m. ET, with debutants Bodø/Glimt, Pafos, Kairat Almaty and Union Saint-Gilloise joining established powers.
• Each team will be assigned two opponents from each pot with one home and one away game, domestic league opponents are barred, and clubs can face at most two teams from any one country.
• UEFA is using a manual draw followed by computer assignment for opponents and home/away order, with full fixture lists due Saturday after the Monaco ceremony.
• The league phase spans eight matchdays from September 16–18 through January 28, when all fixtures conclude in a unified kickoff round, before February playoff ties for places in the last 16.
• The revamped format delivers 144 league-phase matches and a reported €2.47 billion prize pool, with the final scheduled for May 30, 2026 at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna.