2020–21 UEFA Champions League
The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League will be the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
 The Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul will host the final | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 8 August 2020 – 30 September 2020 Competition proper: 20 October 2020 – 29 May 2021 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 79, 80 or 81 (from 54 associations) |
The final will be played at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.[1] The winners of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League will automatically qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage, and also earn the right to play against the winners of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup.
Association team allocation
A total of 79, 80 or 81 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations participate in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League (the exception being Liechtenstein, which does not organise a domestic league). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:
- Associations 1–4 each have four teams qualify.
- Associations 5–6 each have three teams qualify.
- Associations 7–15 each have two teams qualify.
- Associations 16–55 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify.
- The winners of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League and 2019–20 UEFA Europa League are each given an additional entry if they do not qualify for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league.
Association ranking
For the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2019 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2014–15 to 2018–19.[2]
Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:
- (UCL) – Additional berth for UEFA Champions League title holders
- (UEL) – Additional berth for UEFA Europa League title holders
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Distribution
The following is the default access list.[3]
| Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round (4 teams) |
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| First qualifying round (34 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round | Champions Path (20 teams) |
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| League Path (6 teams) |
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| Third qualifying round | Champions Path (12 teams) |
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| League Path (8 teams) |
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| Play-off round | Champions Path (8 teams) |
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| League Path (4 teams) |
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| Group stage (32 teams) |
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| Knockout phase (16 teams) |
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Changes will be made to the access list above if the Champions League and/or Europa League title holders qualify for the tournament via their domestic leagues.
- If the Champions League title holders qualify for the group stage via their domestic league, the champions of association 11 (Netherlands) will enter the group stage, and champions of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds will also be promoted accordingly.
- If the Europa League title holders qualify for the group stage via their domestic league, the third-placed team of association 5 (France) will enter the group stage, and runners-up of the highest-ranked associations in the second qualifying round will also be promoted accordingly.
- If the Champions League and/or Europa League title holders qualify for the qualifying rounds via their domestic league, their spot in the qualifying rounds is vacated, and teams of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds will be promoted accordingly.
- An association may have a maximum of five teams in the Champions League. Therefore, if both the Champions League and Europa League title holders come from the same top-four association and finish outside of the top four of their domestic league, the fourth-placed team of the league will not compete in the Champions League and will instead compete in the Europa League.
As a result of schedule delays to both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 European seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 European season will start before the conclusion of the 2019–20 European season. Therefore, the changes to the access list that should be made based on which teams are the Champions League and Europa League title holders may not be certain after matches of the earlier qualifying rounds have been played and/or their draws have been made. How changes will be implemented in this case will be confirmed by UEFA.
Teams
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the deadline for entering the tournament had been postponed until further notice.[4] In early April 2020, UEFA sent a letter to all member associations that domestic leagues must be completed in full without ending prematurely in order to qualify for European competitions.[5] After meeting with the 55 UEFA associations on 21 April 2020, UEFA strongly recommended them to finish domestic top league and cup competitions, although in some special cases where it is not possible, UEFA would develop guidelines concerning participation in its club competitions in case of a cancelled league or cup.[6][7] After the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 23 April 2020, UEFA announced that if a domestic competition is prematurely terminated for legitimate reasons in accordance with conditions related to public health or economic problems, the national associations concerned are required to select their participating teams for the 2020–21 UEFA club competitions based on sporting merit in the 2019–20 domestic competitions, and UEFA reserves the right to refuse their admission if UEFA deems the termination of the competitions not legitimate, or the selection procedure not objective, transparent and non-discriminatory, or the team is perceived by the public as qualifying unfairly. A suspended domestic competition may also be restarted with a different format from the original one in a manner which would still facilitate qualification on sporting merit.[8][9] All leagues should communicate to UEFA by 25 May 2020 whether they intend to restart their competitions.[10]
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
- TH: Champions League title holders
- EL: Europa League title holders
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.: League positions of the previous season
- Abd-: League positions of abandoned season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe as determined by the national association; all teams are subject to approval by UEFA as per the guidelines for entry to European competitions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic[11]
The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round are divided into Champions Path (CH) and League Path (LP).
CC: 2020 UEFA club coefficients (updated after UEFA Champions/Europa League matches on 12 March 2020, coefficients which may increase marked by ≥).[12]
Notes
- ^ Azerbaijan (AZE): The 2019–20 Azerbaijan Premier League was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment, Qarabağ (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[13]
- ^ Belgium (BEL): The 2019–20 Belgian First Division A was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium. The top two teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Club Brugge (who were declared champions) and KAA Gent, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Royal Belgian Football Association, entering the group stage and third qualifying round respectively, pending confirmation from UEFA.[14]
- ^ Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH): The 2019–20 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment, Sarajevo (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[15]
- ^ Cyprus (CYP): The 2019–20 Cypriot First Division was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment, Omonia, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Cyprus Football Association, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[16]
- ^ England (ENG): Manchester City, currently in the top four of the 2019–20 Premier League, were banned from all UEFA club competitions for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 14 February 2020 due to breaches of the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations.[17] However, the decision is pending appeal by Manchester City to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[18]
- ^ France (FRA): The 2019–20 Ligue 1 was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The top three teams of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, Paris Saint-Germain (who were declared champions), Marseille and Rennes, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the French Football Federation, entering the group stage (top two teams) and third qualifying round respectively, pending confirmation from UEFA.[19]
- ^ Gibraltar (GIB): The 2019–20 Gibraltar National League was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Gibraltar. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment, Europa, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Gibraltar Football Association, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[20]
- ^ Greece (GRE): Olympiacos will enter the group stage if they win the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
- ^ Luxembourg (LUX): The 2019–20 Luxembourg National Division was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Luxembourg. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment, Fola Esch, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Luxembourg Football Federation, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[21]
- ^ Malta (MLT): The 2019–20 Maltese Premier League was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment, Floriana (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Malta Football Association.[22]
- ^ Netherlands (NED): The 2019–20 Eredivisie was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. The top two teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Ajax and AZ, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Royal Dutch Football Association, entering the play-off round and second qualifying round respectively, pending confirmation from UEFA.[23]
- ^ North Macedonia (MKD): The 2019–20 Macedonian First Football League was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment, Vardar (who were declared champions), failed to obtain a UEFA licence, and as a result, the second-placed team, Sileks, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Football Federation of North Macedonia, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[24]
- ^ Northern Ireland (NIR): The 2019–20 NIFL Premiership was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonement, Linfield (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Irish Football Association, entering the preliminary round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[25]
- ^ San Marino (SMR): The 2019–20 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in San Marino. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment, Tre Fiori (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the San Marino Football Federation, entering the preliminary round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[26]
- ^ Scotland (SCO): The 2019–20 Scottish Premiership was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, Celtic (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Scottish Football Association, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[27]
- ^ Turkey (TUR): Trabzonspor were banned from all UEFA club competitions for the 2020–21 season (if they qualify, otherwise for the 2021–22 season) by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 3 June 2020 due to breaches of the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations.[28]
- ^ Wales (WAL): The 2019–20 Cymru Premier was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, Connah's Quay Nomads (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League by the Football Association of Wales, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[29]
Schedule
The tournament would originally start in June 2020, but had been delayed to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. The new schedule was announced by UEFA Executive Committee on 17 June 2020.[30]
All qualifying matches, excluding the play-off round, will be played in single leg matches.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | TBD | 8 August 2020 (semi-final round) | 11 August 2020 (final round) |
| First qualifying round | TBD | 18–19 August 2020 | ||
| Second qualifying round | TBD | 25–26 August 2020 | ||
| Third qualifying round | TBD | 15–16 September 2020 | ||
| Play-off | Play-off round | TBD | 22–23 September 2020 | 29–30 September 2020 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 1 October 2020 (Athens) |
20–21 October 2020 | |
| Matchday 2 | 27–28 October 2020 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 3–4 November 2020 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 24–25 November 2020 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 1–2 December 2020 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 8–9 December 2020 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 16 | 14 December 2020 | 16–17 & 23–24 February 2021 | 9–10 & 16–17 March 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | 19 March 2021 | 6–7 April 2021 | 13–14 April 2021 | |
| Semi-finals | 27–28 April 2021 | 4–5 May 2021 | ||
| Final | 29 May 2021 at Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul | |||
The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows (all draws held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[31]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | 9 June 2020 | 23 June 2020 (semi-final round) | 26 June 2020 (final round) |
| First qualifying round | 16 June 2020 | 7–8 July 2020 | 14–15 July 2020 | |
| Second qualifying round | 17 June 2020 | 21–22 July 2020 | 28–29 July 2020 | |
| Third qualifying round | 20 July 2020 | 4–5 August 2020 | 11 August 2020 | |
| Play-off | Play-off round | 3 August 2020 | 18–19 August 2020 | 25–26 August 2020 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 27 August 2020 (Monaco) |
15–16 September 2020 | |
| Matchday 2 | 29–30 September 2020 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 20–21 October 2020 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 3–4 November 2020 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 24–25 November 2020 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 8–9 December 2020 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 16 | 14 December 2020 | 16–17 & 23–24 February 2021 | 9–10 & 16–17 March 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | 19 March 2021 | 6–7 April 2021 | 13–14 April 2021 | |
| Semi-finals | 27–28 April 2021 | 4–5 May 2021 | ||
| Final | 29 May 2021 at Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg | |||
See also
References
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- "Country coefficients 2018/19". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- "Champions League and Europa League changes next season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
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- "Clubs risk Champions League exclusion if seasons abandoned prematurely". The Guardian. 3 April 2020.
- "UEFA meets National Associations for update on ongoing works". UEFA.com. 21 April 2020.
- "Uefa says some leagues could be cancelled 'in special cases'". BBC Sport. 21 April 2020.
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- "Uefa keen on sporting merit qualification method for European competitions". BBC Sport. 23 April 2020.
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- "Guidelines on eligibility principles for 2020/21 UEFA Club Competitions – COVID 19" (PDF). UEFA.com. 23 April 2020.
- "Club coefficients 2019/20". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
- "İcraiyyə Komitəsinin iclası keçirilib". Azərbaycan Futbol Federasiyaları Assosiasiyası. 18 June 2020.
- "Communication à la suite de l'Assemblée Générale". Jupiler Pro League. 15 May 2020.
- "ODRŽANA 51.SJEDNICA IO NS/FS BiH". Nogometni/Fudbalski savez Bosne i Hercegovine. 1 June 2020.
- "Δ.Σ. ΚΟΠ: Απόφαση για διακοπή του Πρωταθλήματος Cyta και του Κυπέλλου Coca - Cola". Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου. 15 May 2020.
- "Club Financial Control Body Adjudicatory Chamber decision on Manchester City Football Club". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- "Club statement". Manchester City F.C. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- "PSG champions as season ended". Ligue 1. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- "Domestic Football Season Terminated". Gibraltar Football Association. 1 May 2020.
- "Informations aux clubs de la FLF – crise du CORONA COVID-19 Décisions du Conseil d'Administration". Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Football. 28 April 2020.
- "Malta Football Association Council – Statement". Malta Football Association. 25 May 2020.
- "Afwikkeling voetbalseizoen 2019/'20 een feit". Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond. 22 April 2020.
- "Седница на Управен одбор на ФФМ". Фудбалска Федерација на Македонија. 26 June 2020.
- "STATEMENT: 26 JUNE 2020". Northern Ireland Football League. 26 June 2020.
- "La prossima stagione inizierà il 1 luglio, Tre Fiori e Fiorentino campioni 2019-20". Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio. 23 June 2020.
- "Ladbrokes Premiership and SPFL Season 2019/20 curtailed". Scottish Professional Football League. 18 May 2020.
- "CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber issues order excluding Trabzonspor AŞ". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- "FAW Board decide to curtail National Leagues season". Football Association of Wales. 19 May 2020.
- "Updated UEFA competitions calendar". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- "2020/21 UEFA Champions League match calendar". Union of European Football Associations. 24 September 2019.