7M - When Does the Champions League Playoff Draw Take Place?

Posted Thursday, January 29, 2026 by 7M Sport

The 2025–26 UEFA Champions League League Phase is drawing to a close, and with it anticipation builds – just 24 teams remain in the competition from the original 36 entrants. These clubs are now set to battle for a spot in the next round via the playoffs, the first stage of the tournament’s direct knockout action.

Once the League Phase wraps up, the knockout stage gets underway, consisting of the sides that finish in positions 9 through 24 in the overall league standings. By contrast, teams including Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, alongside all other clubs that claimed a top-eight finish, have already earned an automatic berth in the Round of 16. They will discover their Round of 16 opponents only after the playoff round has been completed.

Champions League Playoff Draw: Key Details on Date, Venue and Kick-Off Time
Event: 2025/26 UEFA Champions League Knockout Playoff Draw
Date: Friday, January 30, 2026
Venue: Nyon, Switzerland (UEFA’s House of European Football)
Draw Kick-Off Times:
- 6:00 a.m. ET
- 3:00 a.m. PT
- 12:00 p.m. CET (Switzerland’s local time)

This draw will decide the pivotal matchups for the playoff round, a stage that will seal the European campaign fate of several elite continental clubs as they push for a place in the Round of 16.

Champions League Playoff Draw Regulations
UEFA has set out definitive rules for the playoff draw, one of which is that clubs from the same national league may be drawn against one another.

Per UEFA’s official criteria, the draw follows these key stipulations:
a. Teams are matched according to their final League Phase rankings, creating four seeded pairs (positions 9–10, 11–12, 13–14, 15–16) and four unseeded pairs (positions 17–18, 19–20, 21–22, 23–24).
b. Each seeded pair will be drawn against an unseeded pair in the following fixed matchups:
- 9 or 10 vs 23 or 24
- 11 or 12 vs 21 or 22
- 13 or 14 vs 19 or 20
- 15 or 16 vs 17 or 18

When Will the Champions League Playoffs Be Played?
From the playoffs onward, all fixtures in the competition will be two-legged knockout clashes (the only exception being the tournament’s final match).

Playoff First Legs: February 17–18, 2026
Playoff Second Legs: February 24–25, 2026