The draw for the league phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League Season was conducted at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco at 18:00 CET on Thursday, 29 August.
League Phase Draw:
- Number of Teams: 36
- Number of Matches: 144 (18 matches per matchday; 8 matchdays total)
- Matchdays: 17/18/19 September 2024, 1/2 October 2024, 22/23 October 2024, 5/6 November 2024, 26/27 November 2024, 10/11 December 2024, 21/22 January 2025, and 29 January 2025
- Kick-off Times: 18:45 CET or 21:00 CET
Draw Procedure:
Match System:
All matches in the league phase will be played in a single-round format, where each club will face eight different opponents, with four matches played at home and four away.
Draw System and Conditions:
The match pairings for the league phase were determined through a draw, which may have included a digital component. The 36 clubs were allocated into four pots of nine teams each, based on the club coefficient rankings at the start of the season, with the UEFA Champions League titleholder receiving the top seed in Pot 1.
The draw decided the opponents for each club and whether each match would be played at home or away. Each team was matched against two opponents from each of the four pots, playing one opponent at home and the other away. Teams from the same national association were generally not drawn against each other, and a club could face a maximum of two teams from any other association, as stipulated by Paragraph 16.03.
UEFA administration reserved the right to modify the draw conditions in accordance with principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. Adjustments could also be made to avoid potential deadlocks or address any relevant constraints as decided by the UEFA Executive Committee.
Draw System:
The draw process involved both manual and digital methods, with some selections made by physically drawing balls from a bowl and others via designated automated software. The entire process, both digital and manual, was overseen and verified by an independent external auditor.
POTS:
Pot 1: 1. Real Madrid C.F. (ESP) 2. Manchester City (ENG) 3. FC Bayern München (GER) 4. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 5. Liverpool FC (ENG) 6. FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) 7. Borussia Dortmund (GER) 8. RB Leipzig (GER) 9. FC Barcelona (ESP)
Pot 2: 10. Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) 11. Atlético de Madrid (ESP) 12. Atalanta BC (ITA) 13. Juventus (ITA) 14. SL Benfica (POR) 15. Arsenal FC (ENG) 16. Club Brugge KV (BEL) 17. FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 18. AC Milan (ITA)
Pot 3: 19. Feyenoord (NED) 20. Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) 21. PSV Eindhoven (NED) 22. GNK Dinamo (CRO) 23. FC Salzburg (AUT) 24. LOSC Lille (FRA) 25. FK Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 26. BSC Young Boys (SUI) 27. Celtic FC (SCO)
Pot 4: 28. ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK) 29. AS Monaco (FRA) 30. AC Sparta Praha (CZE) 31. Aston Villa FC (ENG) 32. Bologna FC 1909 (ITA) 33. Girona FC (ESP) 34. VfB Stuttgart (GER) 35. SK Sturm Graz (AUT) 36. Stade Brestois 29 (FRA)
Draw Procedure: For the draw, four bowls were prepared, corresponding to each of the four pots. Each bowl contained nine balls, each representing one of the teams in that pot.
Pot 1: A ball was drawn at random from the bowl representing Pot 1, and the team’s name was revealed. The software then randomly selected eight opponents for this team—two from each pot (Pots 1, 2, 3, and 4)—and determined whether each match would be played at home or away. The allocation process ensured that all draw conditions were met and that the match schedule could be completed as planned. Once a valid allocation was confirmed, the opponents and venues were disclosed. This process was repeated for each team in Pot 1.
Pot 2: The draw procedure for Pot 2 was similar to Pot 1, but with the two opponents from Pot 1 already determined. The software then selected the remaining opponents from Pots 2, 3, and 4.
Pot 3: The process was identical to that for Pots 1 and 2, but only opponents from Pots 3 and 4 needed to be drawn.
Pot 4: The draw for Pot 4 followed the same procedure as for the previous pots, with opponents being selected solely from Pot 4.