On Monday, August 4, the draw for the UEFA Champions League playoff round took place in Nyon. This stage of the tournament will determine the final participants for the group stage of the 2025/2026 season. The first matches will kick off on August 19-20, with the return legs set for August 26-27.
Champions Path:
- Ludogorets (Bulgaria) / Ferencváros (Hungary) vs. Shkendija (North Macedonia) / Karabakh (Azerbaijan);
- Lech (Poland) / Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) vs. Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) / Paphos (Cyprus);
- Bodo/Glimt (Norway) vs. Sturm (Austria);
- Celtic (Scotland) vs. Kairat (Kazakhstan) / Slovan (Slovakia);
- Basel (Switzerland) vs. Malmö (Sweden) / Copenhagen (Denmark)
League Path:
- Feyenoord (Netherlands) / Fenerbahçe (Turkey) vs. Nice (France) / Benfica (Portugal);
- Rangers (Scotland) / Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic) vs. Salzburg (Austria) / Brugge (Belgium)
The group stage of the Champions League will start on September 16. For reference, the current titleholder of the tournament is the French club Paris Saint-Germain.
