When Is the Champions League Playoffs Draw?
Once the League Phase comes to an end, the knockout stage begins, featuring the teams that finish between 9th and 24th place in the overall standings.
The 2025–26 UEFA Champions League League Phase is reaching its conclusion, and with it the excitement rises, as only 24 of the original 36 teams remain. These clubs must now fight for their future in the playoffs, the first round of direct elimination.
Teams such as Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, along with the rest of the clubs that finished inside the Top 8, have already secured direct qualification to the Round of 16. Once the playoff round is completed, they will learn their opponents.
Champions League Playoffs Draw: Date, Venue and Time
- Date: Friday, January 30, 2026
- Venue: Nyon, Switzerland (House of European Football – UEFA)
- Event: UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Knockout Playoffs Draw
Draw Time
- 6:00 a.m. ET
- 3:00 a.m. PT
- 12:00 p.m. CET (local time in Switzerland)
The draw will determine the decisive matchups on the road to the Round of 16, in a phase that will shape the European fate of several continental giants.
Champions League Playoffs Draw Rules
UEFA has established clear guidelines for the draw, including the rule that clubs from the same country can face each other.
According to UEFA, the draw follows these criteria:
a. Clubs are paired based on their final League Phase position to form four seeded pairs (positions 9–10, 11–12, 13–14, and 15–16) and four unseeded pairs (positions 17–18, 19–20, 21–22, and 23–24).
b. Each seeded pair will be drawn against an unseeded pair as follows:
- 9 or 10 vs 23 or 24
- 11 or 12 vs 21 or 22
- 13 or 14 vs 19 or 20
- 15 or 16 vs 17 or 18
When Are the Champions League Playoffs Played?
From this point forward, the competition moves into two-legged knockout ties, with the exception of the Final.
- First legs: February 17–18, 2026
- Second legs: February 24–25, 2026
