The 67th season of Europe’s elite club competition, the 30th since it was renamed the UEFA Champions League, has been released and would take place starting from 22 June 2021 to 28 May 2022.
The 32 teams in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage consists of 26 automatic qualifiers joined by six play-off winners.
Chelsea is the holders the current holders of the title after defeating Manchester City in a thrilling 1-0 match.
Automatic qualifiers
Ajax (NED)
Atalanta (ITA)
Atlético (ESP)
Barcelona (ESP)
Bayern (GER)
Beşiktaş (TUR)
Chelsea (ENG, holders)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Dortmund (GER)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Inter Milan (ITA)
Juventus (ITA)
Leipzig (GER)
Liverpool (ENG)
LOSC (FRA)
Manchester City (ENG)
Manchester United (ENG)
Milan (ITA)
Paris (FRA)
Porto (POR)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Sevilla (ESP)
Sporting CP (POR)
Villarreal (ESP, UEFA Europa League winners)
Wolfsburg (GER)
Zenit (RUS)
This list is subject to final confirmation from UEFA
In 2020/21, qualifying was truncated following the late finish to the previous campaign, with all ties prior to the play-offs played as single-leg matches. All being well, 2021/22 will see a return to the home and away format from the first qualifying round onwards.
To see who enters in which round, and how eliminated teams transfer to the UEFA Europa League and new UEFA Europa Conference League, consult the Access List.
Qualifying
22 June 2021: Preliminary round semi-finals
25 June 2021: Preliminary round final
6/7 & 13/14 July 2021: First qualifying round
20/21 & 27/28 July 2021: Second qualifying round
3/4 & 10 August 2021: Third qualifying round
17/18 & 24/25 August 2021: Play-offs
Group stage
14/15 September 2021: Matchday 1
28/29 September 2021: Matchday 2
19/20 October 2021: Matchday 3
2/3 November 2021: Matchday 4
23/24 November 2021: Matchday 5
7/8 December 2021: Matchday 6
Knockout phase
15/16/22/23 February & 8/9/15/16 March 2022: Round of 16
5/6 & 12/13 April 2022: Quarter-finals
26/27 & 3/4 May 2022: Semi-finals
28 May 2022: Final
The out-of-this-world Saint Petersburg Stadium will host the final
Where will the final take place?
The final will take place at the Saint Petersburg Stadium. The distinct venue on Krestovsky Island was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, whose vision was for a spaceship that had landed on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. It has been home to Zenit since 2017.
Chelsea would hope to retain their title, as other teams keenly contest the this season’s UCL title.
