UEFA Futsal Champions League preliminary and main round draws

The UEFA Futsal Champions League preliminary and main round draws at 14:00 CET on Thursday 4 July decide the groups for the preliminary round in August and main round in October.

Each of the 56 entrants will begin in one of these rounds. The best-ranked eligible associations in the UEFA futsal national team coefficient rankings at the end of April 2023* enter two representatives (Portugal, Spain – including holders Illes Balears Palma Futsal – Kazakhstan and Croatia), with one club apiece from the other nations.

*Russia excluded

The 24 teams with the highest coefficients (including Palma) receive byes to the main round, which runs from 22 to 27 October.

The other 32 teams start in the preliminary round, which runs from 20 to 25 August, aiming to fill the remaining main round places. The main round leads to November and December's elite round, which will determine the four contenders for the knockout finals in May.

How the draws work

Preliminary round:

Draw procedure

• Teams will be drawn into eight groups of four teams.
• The clubs are split into four seeding positions based on their coefficients.
• Eight teams starting in the preliminary round are pre-selected as mini-tournament hosts and drawn separately, before being placed in their appropriate seeding positions from Group A to H.
• The remaining sides in seeding position 4 are drawn next and placed in the remaining slots for position 4 in from Group A to H.
• The remaining clubs in position 3, position 2 and position 1 are drawn in a similar manner to fill the remaining places in the groups.
• The eight preliminary round group winners progress to the main round, Path B.

Based on previous decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee, clubs from Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be drawn in the same group.

Seeding pots

Pot 1: Hosts
FC Diamant Linz (AUT, seeding position 1)
Tirana Futsal (ALB, 2)
Amigo Northwest (BUL, 2)
Hjørring Futsal Klub (DEN, 2)
Uddevalla Futsal Club (SWE, 2)
FC Clic Chişinău (MDA, 3)
Futsal Club FORCA (MKD, 3)
Manchester Futsal Club (ENG, 3)

Pot 2: Seeding position 4
Ranger's FC (AND)
Aberdeen Futsal Academy (SCO)
Pro Futsal Cymru (WAL)
Sparta Belfast (NIR)
Istanbul Şişli SK (TUR)
Ísbjörninn (ISL)
Europa FC (GIB)
Maccabi Netanya Futsal (ISR)

Pot 3: Seeding position 3
TSV Weilimdorf (GER)
AEK Futsal Club (GRE)
Utleira Idrettslag (NOR)
Sillamäe Silla FC (EST)
FC Fiorentino (SMR)

Pot 4: Seeding position 2
Yerevan Futsal Club (ARM)
NV Georgians (GEO)
Blue Magic FC Dublin (IRL)
AEK Limassol (CYP)

Pot 5: Seeding position 1
Catania C/5 (ITA)
Araz Naxçivan (AZE)
MKF Titograd (MNE)
MKN Široki Brijeg (BIH)
Futsal Minerva (SUI)
Akaa Futsal (FIN)
Tigers Roermond (NED)

Main round:

Draw procedure

Four nations – Portugal, Spain Kazakhstan and Croatia – enter two clubs, and those countries' eight representatives, including holders Palma, are among the 24 teams with the highest coefficients, receiving byes to the main round. The remaining places in the main round are filled by the eight preliminary round group winners.

Path A

• Holders Palma, the next 11 top-ranked clubs and further teams ranked 16th to 19th are involved in this path.
• Clubs are allocated one of four seeding positions as per their coefficients.
• Four sides are designated as hosts and drawn separately, while maintaining their seeding positions, and placed in Groups 1 to 4 in ascending order.
• The remaining teams are drawn in pots representing seeding positions 4 to 1 in ascending order. In each case, teams are drawn and placed in the appropriate positions in Groups 1 to 4, missing out any group which already has a host assigned to that position.
• There is no country protection.
• The top three clubs in each of the four groups proceed to the elite round.

Seeding pots

Pot 10: Hosts
AE Illes Balears Palma Futsal (ESP, holders, 1)
Sporting Anderlecht Futsal (BEL 2)
Kairat Almaty (KAZ, 2)
FC Prishtina 01 (KOS, 4)

Pot 11: Seeding position 4
Record Bielsko-Biała (POL)
Futsal Club Semey (KAZ)
United Galati (ROU)

Pot 12: Seeding position 3
Haladás VSE (HUN)
SK Plzeň (CZE)
FC Hit Kyiv (UKR)
MNK Futsal Dinamo (CRO)

Pot 13: Seeding position 2
MNK Olmissum (CRO)
Futsal Klub Dobovec (SVN)

Pot 14: Seeding position 1
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)
Cartagena Costa Cálida (ESP)
Sporting Clube de Braga (POR)

Path B

• The clubs ranked 12th to 15th, and 20th to 23rd, are joined by the eight preliminary round group winners.
• There are four seeding positions. The clubs ranked 12th to 15th are in position 1 and those ranked 20th to 3rd in position 2. The remaining preliminary round winners occupy a further pot to fill positions 3 and 4.
• Three clubs are designated as hosts and drawn separately, while maintaining their seeding positions, and placed in Groups 5 to 7 in ascending order. Group 8 will be without a pre-allocated host and the home team will be confirmed later.
• The eight preliminary round winners are drawn into position 4 then position 3 in Groups 5 to 8.
• The remaining teams are drawn in pots representing seeding positions 2 to 1 in ascending order. In each case teams are drawn and placed in the appropriate positions in Groups 5 to 8, missing out any group which already has a host assigned to that position.
• The winners of each of the four groups move on to the elite round.

Seeding pots

Pot 6: Hosts
Etoile Lavalloise (FRA, 1)
Futsal Klub Lučenec (SVK, 2)
KMF FON Banjica (SRB, 2)

Pot 7: Preliminary round winners (Seeding positions 3 and 4)
Preliminary round Group A winners
Preliminary round Group B winners
Preliminary round Group C winners
Preliminary round Group D winners
Preliminary round Group E winners
Preliminary round Group F winners
Preliminary round Group G winners
Preliminary round Group H winners

Pot 8: Seeding position 2
FC Stalitsa Minsk (BLR)
FC Differdange 03 (LUX)

Pot 9: Seeding position 1
Riga Futsal Club (LVA)
Luxol St. Andrews Futsal (MLT)
Kauno Žalgiris (LTU)

Team facts

• Palma have won the European title for the last two seasons, the only team to lift the trophy in their debut pair of campaigns since Castellón in the inaugural 2001/02 and 2002/03 editions.
• Two-time winners Kairat Almaty and Sporting CP (the only one of last season's final four other than Palma to qualify) are the other past champions involved.
• Anderlecht and Araz are past semi-finalists. Dobovec reached the one-off quarter-final round in 2020/21.
• Kairat are first club to enter 21 seasons of UEFA futsal competition. Araz make their 19th appearance.
• Debuts: Aberdeen Futsal Academy, Cartagena, Catania, Clic Chișinău, FORCA, Hercegovina Siroki Brijeg, Hjørring, Manchester, Maccabi Netanya, Pro Futsal Cymru, Ranger's, Sillamäe Silla, Semey, Tigers Roermond
• Cartagena winning their first Spanish title to join holders Palma in the competition means that this is only the second edition (after the inaugural 2001/02 campaign) to not involve any of Barça, Inter FS and Murcia FS.

Calendar

Preliminary & main round draw: 4 July
Preliminary round: 20–25 August
Main round: 22–27 October
Elite round draw: 31 October
Elite round: 26 November–1 December
Finals draw: TBC
Finals: 1 or 2 & 3 or 4 May

All dates subject to change