UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw: Where is it, when is it, who is involved?

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw takes place on Friday 31 January.

The knockout phase play-offs are new to the competition in 2024/25. While the top eight sides in the league phase qualify automatically for the round of 16, the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place kick off the knockout stages. They compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16.

From the knockout phase play-offs onwards the tournament is a bracket. The teams that finish the league phase between ninth and 16th will be seeded for the first draw for the knockout phase, and will face a team placed 17th to 24th. The seeded team will, in principle, play the return leg at home.

Potential opponents are also pre-defined by pairings of teams' final league positions. For example, teams finishing ninth and tenth will face the sides that ended 23rd or 24th; teams finishing 11th or 12th will be drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides and so on.

The eight clubs that prevail in the knockout phase play-offs progress to the round of 16.

Which teams are in the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw?

The teams that finished between ninth and 24th in the inaugural league phase will compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition.

How can I watch the draw?

The draw will be streamed live on UEFA.com.

Where is the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw?

The draw takes place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

How does the draw work?

Eight bowls are prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded teams placed in pairs in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league phase rankings.

The draw starts with the unseeded teams, allocating each team from a pair of unseeded teams to one of the relevant pre-determined positions in the bracket, starting with the sides ranked 23/24 and finishing with those in 17/18.

One ball is taken from the bowl containing the two relevant ranked teams (i.e. the teams ranked 23 and 24) and is opened to display the team. The first team drawn from this bowl is placed in their reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket. The other unseeded team of the pairing is then drawn and displayed, and allocated in the corresponding reserved spot on the blue side of the bracket.

The same procedure is carried out with the remaining unseeded clubs.

Once all the pairings of unseeded teams have been drawn and assigned to an appropriate position on the bracket, the draw continues with the seeded sides, starting with the pairing ranked 15/16. The process is the same as described above for the unseeded teams, with the first team drawn from the relevant bowl allocated to the reserved designated spot on the silver side of the bracket and the second team on the blue side.

The procedure is repeated for the remaining pairings, finishing with the teams ranked 9/10 to complete the pairings for the knockout round play-offs.

In principle, the seeded clubs play the return leg at home.

Can teams from the same national association face each other in the Champions League knockout phase play-offs?

Sides can face another team from the same national association in the knockout phase play-offs. Clubs can also face opponents they met during the league phase.

When do the knockout phase play-off games take place?

The knockout phase play-offs are played over the course of two weeks:

First legs: 11/12 February 2025
Second legs: 18/19 February 2025

Each club will, in principle, play once on a Tuesday and once on a Wednesday. UEFA will confirm the calendar, including match dates and kick-off times, on the evening of the draw.

If matches are impacted by stadium or city clashes, these will be resolved in accordance with the applicable principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.