Champions League qualifying: Fixtures, dates, how it works

Twenty-nine teams have qualified directly for the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League, with the final seven spots coming through qualifying.

There is a first, second and third qualifying round, then the play-offs. From the second qualifying round onwards, each phase is split into two paths – the Champions Path and the League Path. The Champions Path contains teams that qualified as the winners of their domestic league, and the League Path contains teams that qualified through domestic leagues offering more than one place in the competition. The round at which teams enter is based on their association club coefficient rankings.

We explain how qualifying works and list all the fixtures and results.

First qualifying round

Teams involved
Champions Path: 28 (enter in this round)

First legs: 7/8 July 2026

Sabah vs The New Saints
Floriana vs Shamrock Rovers
Flora Tallinn vs Iberia Tbilisi
Lincoln Red Imps vs Inter Escaldes*
Tre Fiori vs Larne*
Ararat-Armenia vs Riga
Vardar vs KuPS Kuopio
Kauno Žalgiris vs Drita
Vitebsk vs Universitatea Craiova
Petrocub vs Egnatia
Borac vs Levski Sofia
Víkingur Reykjavík vs Győri ETO
Kairat Almaty vs Sutjeska
Klaksvík vs Atert Bissen

Second legs: 14/15 July 2026

The New Saints vs Sabah
Shamrock Rovers vs Floriana
Iberia Tbilisi vs Flora Tallinn
Inter Escaldes vs Lincoln Red Imps*
Larne vs Tre Fiori*
Riga vs Ararat-Armenia
KuPS Kuopio vs Vardar
Drita vs Kauno Žalgiris
Universitatea Craiova vs Vitebsk
Egnatia vs Petrocub
Levski Sofia vs Borac
Győri ETO vs Víkingur Reykjavík
Sutjeska vs Kairat Almaty
Atert Bissen vs Klaksvík

How does it work?
• The winners of each tie advance to the second qualifying round (Champions Path).
• Defeated sides switch to the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round (Champions Path), unless drawn to receive a bye to the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round (Champions Path).

* Defeated side switch to the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round (Champions Path)

Second qualifying round

Teams involved
Champions Path: 24 (10 enter in this round, along with the 14 winners of the first qualifying round)
League Path: 4 (enter in this round)

First legs: 21/22 July 2026

Champions Path

Mjällby vs Lincoln Red Imps/Inter Escaldes
Tre Fiori/Larne vs Crvena Zvezda
Sabah/The New Saints vs Vardar/KuPS Kuopio
Klaksvík/Atert Bissen vs Kauno Žalgiris/Drita
Aarhus vs Lech Poznań
Ararat-Armenia/Riga vs Floriana/Shamrock Rovers
Borac/Levski Sofia vs Vitebsk/Universitatea Craiova
Omonoia vs Kairat Almaty/Sutjeska
Thun vs GNK Dinamo
Víkingur Reykjavík/Győri ETO vs Hapoel Beer-Sheva
Flora Tallinn/Iberia Tbilisi vs Slovan Bratislava
Petrocub/Egnatia vs Celje

League Path

Fenerbahçe vs Górnik Zabrze
Sturm Graz vs Hearts

Second legs: 28/29 July 2026

Champions Path

Lincoln Red Imps/Inter Escaldes vs Mjällby
Crvena Zvezda vs Tre Fiori/Larne
Vardar/KuPS Kuopio vs Sabah/The New Saints
Kauno Žalgiris/Drita vs Klaksvík/Atert Bissen
Lech Poznań vs Aarhus
Floriana/Shamrock Rovers vs Ararat-Armenia/Riga
Vitebsk/Universitatea Craiova vs Borac/Levski Sofia
Kairat Almaty/Sutjeska vs Omonoia
GNK Dinamo vs Thun
Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Víkingur Reykjavík/Győri ETO
Slovan Bratislava vs Flora Tallinn/Iberia Tbilisi
Celje vs Petrocub/Egnatia

League Path

Górnik Zabrze vs Fenerbahçe
Hearts vs Sturm Graz

How does it work?
• The winners of each tie advance to the third qualifying round of their respective path.
• Defeated sides of each tie switch to the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round of their respective path.

Third qualifying round

First legs: 4/5 August 2026
Second legs: 11 August 2026

How does it work?
• The winners of each tie advance to the play-off round of their respective path.
• Defeated sides in the Champions Path switch to the UEFA Europa League play-off round.
• Defeated sides in the League Path switch to the league phase of the UEFA Europa League.

Play-off round

First legs: 18/19 August 2026
Second legs: 25/26 August 2026

How does it work?
• The winners of each tie advance to the league phase.
• All defeated sides switch to the league phase of the UEFA Europa League.

League phase draw

UEFA via Getty Images

The league phase draw for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League takes place on Thursday 27 August.

The draw will feature 36 teams – the 29 automatic qualifiers and seven play-off round winners.