Champions League: how many teams from each country qualify?

In total, 36 clubs enter directly into the Champions League league phase (formerly known as the group stage). Allocation is determined through the coefficient ranking, with places distributed among the top ten leagues, in addition to the reigning Champions League and Europa League holders.

How many clubs qualify for the Champions League?

4 direct spots: England, Spain, Germany and Italy
3 direct spots: France
2 direct spots: Netherlands
1 direct spot: Belgium, Czech Republic, Turkey and Portugal
1 direct spot: Champions League and Europa League holders. If the winner has already qualified via their domestic league, the domestic champion from the highest-ranked league with only one qualified club takes the group-stage spot instead, opening up a play-off place for the country's runner-up.

New Champions League format

© Imago

The new Champions League format began two years ago and came into effect from the 2024-25 season. In total, 36 clubs contest the league phase (formerly the group stage). The eight best-placed teams qualify automatically for the last 16.

Teams finishing between 9th and 24th will contest a play-off round ahead of the last 16. The winners of these ties will qualify for the last 16, joining the other eight teams that finished in the automatic qualification places.

Qualifying phase

Before the league phase, the Champions League features a preliminary qualifying phase, which for next season will result in seven additional teams joining the competition. These clubs are selected based on their performances in their respective domestic leagues.

Qualifying begins with 30 teams, the champions of the federations ranked between 25th and 55th in UEFA's coefficient. By the end of the 2025-26 season, 29 teams had already secured qualification for next season's Champions League, leaving only the seven places that will be decided through the qualifying phase.

As a result, the seven teams that progress through qualifying join the 29 already guaranteed a place in the league phase, bringing the total to 36 teams.

1. High-coefficient leagues (such as England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France) generally have four or more teams qualifying directly for the league phase, with some also having additional teams entering via the qualifying rounds.
2. Mid-coefficient leagues may have between one and three teams entering the qualifying phase.
3. Low-coefficient leagues generally have one or two teams entering the qualifying phase.

UEFA coefficient ranking

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UEFA determines the exact number of places allocated to each league annually, based on the performance of clubs in European competitions over previous seasons.

England currently leads UEFA's national league ranking, holding seven places across UEFA's three club competitions. Germany, Spain and Italy also hold the same number.

The criteria for ranking clubs and leagues is based on results over the last five editions of the Champions League, Conference League and Europa League, and has not changed since last season.

1. England
2. Italy
3. Spain
4. Germany
5. France
6. Netherlands
7. Portugal
8. Belgium
9. Turkey
10. Czech Republic