Everything You Need to Know About the UEFA Champions League and Europa League Draws

Monaco is preparing to host the draw ceremonies for the group stage of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League for the 2026-2027 season, taking place on Thursday and Friday, August 27 and 28, at the Grimaldi Forum.

The draw for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League will be held on Thursday, August 27, starting at 7:00 PM Mecca time. Meanwhile, the draws for the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League will take place on Friday, August 28, beginning at 2:00 PM.

The draw for each tournament includes 36 teams, with the Champions League draw featuring 29 teams that qualified directly for the group stage, along with 7 clubs that advanced from the playoff round.

The Europa League draw features 13 teams that qualified directly, 12 teams from the playoff winners, in addition to 4 clubs that moved from the third qualifying round of the Champions League, and 7 teams that lost in the Champions League playoff round.

In the UEFA Conference League, the draw includes 24 teams that won in the playoff round, alongside 12 teams that lost in the playoff round of the Europa League.

According to the tournament system, each team in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League will play 8 matches against 8 different opponents, with 4 matches at home and 4 away. Meanwhile, each team in the Conference League will play 6 matches against 6 different opponents, with 3 matches at home and 3 away.

The teams that finish in the top eight positions in the standings qualify directly for the Round of 16, while clubs ranked from 9th to 24th will compete in playoff matches to secure a spot in the Round of 16. The winning teams from these playoffs will advance to the knockout stages.

Teams that occupy 25th place or lower in the league stage will be definitively eliminated from European competitions without moving to another European tournament.