Road to Athens starts here

The 2006/07 UEFA Champions League gets under way from 12.00CET on Friday with the draw for the first and second qualifying rounds.

Nyon stage
It is little more than five weeks since FC Barcelona were crowned champions of Europe with a 2-1 win against Arsenal FC in the final at the Stade de France in Paris on 17 May. With the ticker tape barely settled after Barça's victory parade, the road to the 2007 showpiece in Athens will begin at UEFA headquarters in Nyon.

Seedings
The first qualifying round draw, to be conducted by Jean Fournet-Fayard, member of the UEFA club competitions committee, and Michele Centenaro, UEFA head of club competitions, will feature 22 teams, all of whom are domestic title-holders. The matches will be played over two legs on 11/12 and 18/19 July.

Group stage goal
The second qualifying round draw will take place from 12.15CET, with 17 sides entering at this stage and joining the eleven first qualifying round winners in 14 ties. The games will be played over two legs on 25/26 July and 1/2 August. The winners will advance to the third qualifying round, where they will be met by another 18 teams entering at that stage. The 32 clubs involved will then compete in 16 fixtures for the right to join the 16 automatic qualifiers in the group stage.