The new-look UEFA Champions League begins in earnest for fans around the world with the draw for the opening stage of the competition proper on August 29.
The final seven of the 36 teams that comprise the "league phase" qualified via the playoff round this week to earn their places in the draw in Monaco.
The draw will look a little different for 2024/25 . The expanded competition sees the new league phase replace the traditional group stage, meaning every team will play eight games rather than six, and the prospect of so-called "big" teams facing one another earlier in the tournament has increased .
The Sporting News is following the draw live and providing updates and the confirmed schedule below.
MORE: Everything you need to know about the new UEFA Champions League "league phase"
UEFA Champions League draw result: League phase 2024/25
The Sporting News will update this section when the complete league phase draw has been made.
| Club | Pot 1 opponents | Pot 2 opponents | Pot 3 opponents | Pot 4 opponents |
|---|
| Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away |
| Real Madrid (RM) | BVB | LFC | ACM | ATA | SAL | LIL | STU | BRE |
| Man City (MC) | IM | PSG | CBR | JUV | FEY | SCP | SP | SB |
| Bayern Munich (BMU) | PSG | FCB | BEN | SD | DZ | FEY | SB | AVL |
| Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) | MC | BMU | AM | AFC | PSV | SAL | GIR | STU |
| Liverpool (LFC) | RM | RBL | B04 | ACM | LIL | PSV | BOL | GIR |
| Inter Milan (IM) | RBL | MC | AFC | B04 | RS | YB | ASM | SP |
| Borussia Dortmund (BVB) | FCB | RM | SD | CBR | CEL | DZ | SG | BOL |
| RB Leipzig (RBL) | LFC | IM | JUV | AM | SCP | CEL | AVL | SG |
| Barcelona (FCB) | BMU | BVB | ATA | BEN | YB | RS | BRE | ASM |
| Bayer Leverkusen (B04) | IM | LFC | ACM | AM | SAL | FEY | SP | BRE |
| Atletico Madrid (AM) | RBL | PSG | B04 | BEN | LIL | SAL | SB | SP |
| Atalanta (ATA) | RM | FCB | AFC | SD | CEL | YB | SG | STU |
| Juventus (JUV) | MC | RBL | BEN | CB | PSV | LIL | STU | AVL |
| Benfica (BEN) | FCB | BAY | AM | JUV | FEY | RS | BOL | ASM |
| Arsenal (AFC) | PSG | IM | SD | ATA | DZ | SCP | ASM | GIR |
| Club Brugge (CBR) | BVB | MC | JUV | ACM | SCP | CEL | AVL | SG |
| Shakhtar Donetsk (SD) | BMU | BVB | ATA | AFC | YB | PSV | BRE | BOL |
| AC Milan (ACM) | LFC | RM | CB | B04 | RS | DZ | GIR | SB |
| Feyenoord (FEY) | BMU | MC | B04 | BEN | SAL | LIL | SP | BIR |
| Sporting CP (SCP) | MC | RBL | AFC | CBR | LIL | PSV | BOL | SG |
| PSV (PSV) | LFC | PSG | SD | JUV | SCP | RS | GIR | BRE |
| Celtic (CEL) | RBL | BVB | CBR | ATA | YB | DZ | SB | AVL |
| Young Boys (YB) | INT | BAR | ATA | SD | RS | CEL | SVL | STU |
| Lille (LIL) | RM | LFC | JUV | ATM | FEY | SCP | SG | BOL |
| Dinamo Zagreb (DZ) | BVB | BAY | ACM | ARS | CEL | SAL | ASM | SB |
| Red Star (RS) | BAR | IM | BEN | ACM | PSV | YB | STU | ASM |
| Red Bull Salzburg (SAL) | PSG | RM | ATM | B04 | DZ | FEY | BRE | SP |
| Monaco (ASM) | BAR | IM | BEN | AFC | RS | DZ | AVL | BOL |
| Aston Villa (AVL) | BM | RBL | JUV | CB | CEL | YB | BOL | ASM |
| Bologna (BOL) | BVB | LFC | SD | BEN | LIL | SCP | ASM | AVL |
| Girona (GIR) | LFC | PSG | ARS | ACM | FEY | PSV | SB | SG |
| Stuttgart (STU) | PSG | RM | ATA | JUV | YB | RS | SP | SB |
| Sturm Graz (SG) | RBL | BVB | CB | ATA | SCP | LIL | GIR | BRE |
| Brest (BRE) | RM | BAR | B04 | SD | PSV | SAL | SG | SP |
| Slovan Bratislava (SB) | MC | BM | ACM | ATM | DZ | CEL | STU | GIR |
| Sparta Prague (SP) | IM | MC | ATM | B04 | SCP | FEY | BRE | STU |
MORE: Latest odds on UEFA Champions League: Who's favourite to win?
UEFA Champions League draw 2024/25: Live updates
POT 4 draw: And we're complete! Incredibly, Sturm Graz have maybe one of the softest draws in the entire competition, and could be a surprise contender for a knockout place from Pot 4. Thanks for joining us!
POT 3 draw: We're done with Pot 3, which means the draw is almost complete! Only the Pot 4 inter-pot matchups are left to reveal.
POT 2 draw: The second slate of teams is now complete! AC Milan have a very difficult draw, while Arsenal have a soft slate outside of the Pot 1 teams.
POT 1 draw: They've completed the draw for Pot 1, and it's got some great matchups in there! Real Madrid will travel to play Liverpool at Anfield, while Borussia Dortmund drew both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
PSG have an absolute gauntlet draw from top to bottom, pulling maybe the toughest two teams from every single pot. They will have an extremely tough time getting to the knockout phase.
30 minutes in: They have just explained how the draw will work. The teams will be drawn one-by-one by hand, which is essentially a formality. The bulk of the draw will be conducted by a computer program which will take the team listed in the manual draw and assign their eight opponents, classifying them as home or away.
In the end, it's quite simple.
20 minutes in: UEFA have just run what can only be described as the most unhinged produced short explaining the new Champions League format. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has just angrily explained the format to Aleksander Ceferin, as if it was his idea, while an orchestra played the UCL anthem in the background. It was weird, but it was kind of fun!
You can watch the 5 minute clip here:
15 minutes in: Now Ceferin is honoring Cristiano Ronaldo who accepts a trophy to recognise him as the top goal scorer in the history of the Champions League. The trophy is basically a UCL stylised edition of the Ballon d'Or.
10 minutes in: UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin is on stage presenting the President's Award to legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Gigi is a beloved player! He will help conduct the draw once it begins.
Draw start: Here we go! The draw is set to begin, although we know how these things go, they will surely take their time.
15 mins to draw: Once the draw is complete, UEFA will take their time setting the fixture dates and kickoff times. There's been chatter that those won't be released until sometime on the weekend.
Once the tickets are distributed, each individual team will handle the primary market. Fans can still get tickets on the secondary market through StubHub International , who are the best place to find tickets to Champions League games.
45 mins to draw: As you know by now, today's draw will be the first in the brave new era of the Champions League "league phase". Curious as to how that will work? Read on .
1 hour to draw time: Welcome to today's UEFA Champions League draw! This is the first under the new "Swiss model" format , which sees an expanded field of 36 teams drawn into a league phase.
Which teams are in the UEFA Champions League draw?
Below are the 36 teams in the draw for the Champions League "league phase". The teams were divided into four seeding pots, and each side will be drawn to face one team from each pot.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|
| Real Madrid (holders) | Bayer Leverkusen | Feyenoord | Monaco |
| Man City | Atletico Madrid | Sporting CP | Aston Villa |
| Bayern Munich | Atalanta | PSV | Bologna |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Juventus | Celtic | Girona |
| Liverpool | Benfica | Dinamo Zagreb | Stuttgart |
| Inter Milan | Arsenal | Salzburg | Sturm Graz |
| Borussia Dortmund | Club Brugge | Lille | Brest |
| RB Leipzig | Shakhtar Donetsk | Red Star | Slovan Bratislava |
| Barcelona | AC Milan | Young Boys | Sparta Prague |
How to buy Champions League tickets 2024/25
Once dates and times for Champions League fixtures are confirmed, the ticket process will begin. Other than the final itself, tickets cannot be purchased from UEFA directly for European matches.
Instead, the primary ticket sales are conducted by the participating clubs themselves so that fans can access them seamlessly just as they would other matches.
Once the tickets are distributed, fans can still get tickets on secondary market, with StubHub International as the best place to find tickets to Champions League games.
Where to watch UEFA Champions League 2024/25
| TV channel | Streaming |
|---|
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
|---|
| Canada | — | DAZN |
|---|
| India | Sony TEN | JioTV, Sony LIV |
|---|
| UK | TNT Sports | discovery+ , Amazon Prime |
|---|
| USA | CBS, CBSSN,
Univision, TUDN,
UniMas | Fubo , Paramount+ ,
ViX or ViX+ |
|---|
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