2020–21 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round
The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round will begin 8 August and will end on 30 September 2020. The six winners in the play-off round advance to the group stage, to join the 26 teams that enter in the group stage. Times are CEST, as listed by UEFA.
Teams
A total of 55 teams are expected compete in the qualifying system of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, which includes the qualifying phase and the play-off round, with 44 teams in Champions Path and 11 teams in League Path. However, the entry list for the qualifying phase and play-off round may change depending on the outcome of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League and the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
Champions Path
The Champions Path includes all league champions which do not qualify directly for the group stage, and consists of the following rounds:
Preliminary round : 4 teams which enter in this round.
First qualifying round : 33 teams which enter in this round, and 1 winner of the preliminary round.
Second qualifying round : 3 teams which enter in this round, and 17 winners of the first qualifying round.
Third qualifying round : 2 teams which enter in this round, and 10 winners of the second qualifying round.
Play-off round : 2 teams which enter in this round, and 6 winners of the third qualifying round.
All teams eliminated from the Champions Path enter the Europa League:
The 4 losers of the third qualifying round and the 2 losers of the play-off round enter the group stage.
Below are the participating teams of the League Path, grouped by their starting rounds.
Key to colours
Winners of play-off round advance to group stage
Losers of play-off round and third qualifying round enter Europa League group stage
Losers of second qualifying round enter Europa League third qualifying round
Notes
Format
In a change to the format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, each tie prior to the play-off round is played as a single-legged match. If scores are level at the end of normal time, extra time is played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the scores remain tied. The play-off round ties are played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the next round. If the aggregate score is level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scores more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, then extra time is played. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e. if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team advances by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the draws for each round, teams are seeded based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients. For any team whose club coefficients are not final at the time of a draw, their club coefficients at that time, taking into account of all 2019–20 UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches played up to that point, are used. Teams are divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team is drawn against an unseeded team, with the home team in single-legged matches, or the order of legs in play-off round two-legged ties, decided by draw. If the identity of the winners of the previous round is not known at the time of the draws, the seeding is carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advances to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient is to advance, it simply takes the seeding of its opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they are purely for convenience of the draw and do not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA may not be drawn into the same tie.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows. The tournament would originally have started in June 2020, but had been delayed to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. The new schedule was announced by the UEFA Executive Committee on 17 June 2020. All qualifying matches, excluding the play-off round, will be played as single leg matches, hosted by one of the teams decided by draw, and will be played behind closed doors. The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.
The draw for the preliminary round was held on 17 July 2020, 12:00 CEST.
Seeding
A total of four teams were involved in the preliminary round draw. As the draw was held before the UEFA entry deadline and the participating teams were not yet confirmed, only the associations of the teams were used, and seeding of teams was based on their association coefficients instead of their club coefficients. For the semi-final round, two teams were seeded and two teams were unseeded. The first team drawn in each tie in the semi-final round and the final round are considered the administrative "home" team.
Seeded
Unseeded
Bracket
Summary
The semi-finals will be played on 8 August, and the final on 11 August 2020, with all matches played at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland.
Semi-final round
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Final round
First qualifying round
Seeding
A total of 32 or 34 teams are expected to play in the first qualifying round: 31 or 33 teams which enter in this round, and the winners of the preliminary round, depending on the results of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League. Seeding of teams is based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients, or for the preliminary round winners, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team is used. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team. Seeded teams:
A total of 26 teams are expected to play in the second qualifying round. They are divided into two paths:
Champions Path : three or four teams which enter in this round, and the 17 or 16 winners of the first qualifying round, depending on the results of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League.
League Path : six teams which enter in this round.
Seeding of teams is based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients, or for the first qualifying round winners, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie is used. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team. Champions Path Seeded teams:
A total of 16, 18 or 20 teams are expected to play in the third qualifying round. They are divided into two paths:
Champions Path : zero or two teams which enter in this round, and the 10 winners of the second qualifying round, depending on the results of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League and 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
League Path : three or five teams which enter in this round, and the three winners of the second qualifying round, depending on the results of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
Seeding of teams is based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team. Note: As the draw for the third qualifying round will be held after the matches of the second qualifying round are played, the seeding can only be fully confirmed after the second qualifying round. Champions Path Seeded teams:
A total of 12 teams are expected to play in the play-off round. They are divided into two paths:
Champions Path : two or three teams which enter in this round, and the six or five winners of the third qualifying round, depending on the results of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League and 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
League Path : zero or one team which enter in this round, and four or three winners of the third qualifying round, depending on the results of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
Seeding of teams is based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients, or for the third qualifying round winners, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie is used. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team. Note: As the draw for the play-off round will be held after the matches of the second qualifying round are played, the seeding can only be fully confirmed after the second qualifying round. Champions Path Seeded teams:
