December date for knockout round draws

The draws for the knockout rounds of the 2010/11 UEFA club competitions take place on Friday 17 December at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The pairings for the UEFA Champions League round of 16, and for the rounds of 32 and 16 of the UEFA Europa League, will be made during ceremonies staged at UEFA, starting at 12.00CET and 13.00 respectively.

The draws will be conducted by UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino and UEFA director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti, assisted by two former European Champion Clubs' Cup winning players – Sir Bobby Charlton for the UEFA Champions League and 2011 final ambassador Ronnie Whelan for the UEFA Europa League.

The UEFA Champions League draw will pit the winners of one group against the runners-up of another, with the runners-up playing the first leg at home. Winners and runners-up from the same group cannot be drawn together. Clubs from the same association cannot meet either.

The UEFA Europa League round of 32 draw will involve the 12 group winners and the four best third-ranked teams in the UEFA Champions League group stage, being drawn against the 12 UEFA Europa League runners-up and the other four third-place finishers from the UEFA Champions League.

Winners and runners-up from the same group cannot face each other. Group winners and the four best third-ranked UEFA Champions League sides will play the return leg at home. As with the UEFA Champions League, clubs from the same association will be kept apart.

There will then follow a draw for the UEFA Europa League round of 16, with the teams to progress from the round of 32 indicated as winners of matches 1 to 16. The first side drawn will play the first leg at home.

Media representatives wishing to attend the draws must apply for accreditation by emailing fame_accreditations@uefa.ch before midday on Thursday 16 December. Please write 'Club draws 17.12.2010' in the subject header.

Because of the number of club representatives expected for the draws, only six photographers and a restricted number of cameramen will be allowed to attend the draw in the auditorium. A sound system will be installed for cameramen.

A live feed from the draw hall will be available in the media working area, which is also equipped with Wi-Fi connection. Both draws will be transmitted live on UEFA.com and Eurosport.