Monaco to Host Draw Amid Rising Tensions
The Champions League draw is scheduled for Thursday evening in Monaco, where UEFA will convene its member federations to finalize the competition’s format.
The event comes at a time of heightened tension between UEFA and FIFA, with Gianni Infantino’s proposal to monetize World Cup revenues to private investors having collapsed, leaving the Swiss chief without FIFA’s backing ahead of his March reelection.
Aleksander Ceferin, who has led UEFA since 2016, will preside over the draw, marking the first in‑person gathering of the governing bodies since the dispute erupted.
Notably, Infantino will not be present in Monaco; instead, speculation swirls that Nasser al‑Khelaïfi, president of Paris Saint‑Germain, could step in should Infantino fail to secure another term.
The draw will allocate eight opponents to each of the 36 participants, ensuring a balanced home and away split while preventing intra‑national match‑ups.
Four newcomers — Como of Italy, LASK of Austria, Viking of Norway and Azerbaijan’s Sabah — will make their debut, adding fresh storylines to the league phase.
Matches are slated to begin on September 8‑10, with the league phase resuming in January; the top eight teams will advance directly to the round of 16 in March, while positions nine through twenty‑four will contest knockout playoffs in February, and the remaining clubs will be eliminated.
The entire competition will distribute roughly €2.5 billion in prize money, underscoring the financial stakes for clubs across Europe.
UEFA’s seeding algorithm relies on five‑year European performance metrics, shaping each team’s path in the draw.