UEFA Youth League: season guide

• UEFA Champions League path games
• Winners of groups to round of 16, runners-up to play-offs
• Domestic champions path ties
• Winners of second round ties to play-offs

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PATH

The 32 youth teams of the clubs which qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage are in this path, with the groups decided by the UEFA Champions League group stage draw.

Group A: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Real Madrid (ESP), Club Brugge (BEL), Galatasaray (TUR)

Group B: Bayern München (GER), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), Olympiacos (GRE), Crvena zvezda (SRB)

Group C: Manchester City (ENG), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), GNK Dinamo (CRO), Atalanta (ITA)

Group D: Juventus (ITA), Atlético Madrid (ESP), Bayer Leverkusen (GER), Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)

Group E: Liverpool (ENG), Napoli (ITA), Salzburg (AUT), Genk (BEL)

Group F: Barcelona (ESP), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Internazionale Milano (ITA), Slavia Praha (CZE)

Group G: Zenit (RUS), Benfica (POR), Lyon (FRA), RB Leipzig (GER)

Group H: Chelsea (ENG), Ajax (NED), Valencia (ESP), LOSC Lille (FRA)

• Among the contenders in this path are two-time winners Barcelona and Chelsea, as well as 2016/17 champions Salzburg.

• Ajax, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern München, Benfica, Juventus, Manchester City, Paris and Real Madrid all keep up their records of entering all seven editions of this competition (along with domestic champions path hopefuls Porto – the current UEFA Youth League holders).

• Atalanta, Genk, LOSC Lille and Slavia Praha are making UEFA Youth League debuts.

• Barcelona have played a record 53 games in this competition but Chelsea have scored more goals than anyone else (142).

DOMESTIC CHAMPIONS PATH

The domestic youth champions of the 32 best-ranked associations in the 2018 UEFA association coefficient rankings (the same rankings used to decide access to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League) are in this path. The 31st-ranked association, Liechtenstein, have no domestic youth competition, so their place is taken by Moldova, ranked 33rd.

First round draw

Gabala (AZE) v APOEL (CYP)
Shkëndija Tiranë (ALB) v Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA)
MTK Budapest (HUN) v HŠK Zrinjski (BIH)
Real Zaragoza (ESP) v Korona Kielce (POL)
FC Minsk (BLR) v Derby County (ENG)
Elfsborg (SWE) v Midtjylland (DEN)
Sogndal (NOR) v Honka (FIN)
ÍA Akranes (ISL) v Levadia Tallinn (EST)
Bohemians (IRL) v PAOK (GRE)
Rennes (FRA) v Brodarac (SRB)
Young Boys (SUI) v Rangers (SCO)
Porto (POR, holders) v Liepāja (LVA)
Viitorul (ROU) v Domžale (SVN)
Ludogorets (BUL) v Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) v KF Shkëndija (MKD)
Astana (KAZ) v Maccabi Petah Tikva (ISR)

Second round draw

Shkëndija Tiranë (ALB)/Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA) v Sogndal (NOR)/Honka (FIN)
Real Zaragoza (ESP)/Korona Kielce (POL) v Gabala (AZE)/APOEL (CYP)
Elfsborg (SWE)/Midtjylland (DEN) v MTK Budapest (HUN)/HŠK Zrinjski (BIH)
ÍA Akranes (ISL)/Levadia Tallinn (EST) v FC Minsk (BLR)/Derby County (ENG)
Porto (POR, holders)/Liepāja (LVA) v Viitorul (ROU)/Domžale (SVN)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)/KF Shkëndija (MKD) v Bohemians (IRL)/PAOK (GRE)
Young Boys (SUI)/Rangers (SCO) v Ludogorets (BUL)/Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Rennes (FRA)/Brodarac (SRB) v Astana (KAZ)/Maccabi Petah Tikva (ISR)

• A vacancy in this path (from a club being eligible for the UEFA Champions League path, namely Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Lokomotiv Moskva, Genk, Galatasaray, Salzburg, Dinamo, Ajax and Slavia) is filled by the domestic youth champions of the next best-ranked association (in those cases Albania, Iceland, Hungary, North Macedonia, Finland, the Republic of Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia and, represented for the first time, Estonia).

• Along with Estonia’s Levadia, there are debuts for Derby County, ÍA Akranes, Honka, Korona Kielce, Maccabi Petah Tikva, MTK Budapest, Rangers, Real Zaragoza, Rennes, Shkëndija Tiranë, Slovan Bratislava and Sogndal.

COMPETITION SYSTEM

Champions League path

The 32 clubs entering via the UEFA Champions League will compete in groups with the same make-up and fixture list as the senior competition.

• The eight group winners will progress straight to the round of 16.

• The eight runners-up will go into the play-offs.

Domestic champions path

The 32 teams will compete in two knockout rounds of home-and-away ties. There will be no seeding.

• The eight teams remaining after the second round will go into the play-offs.

Play-offs

The eight domestic champions path survivors will be drawn at home to the eight UEFA Champions League path runners-up in one-off ties to decide the eight remaining round of 16 berths.

Knockout phase and final

The knockout phase, starting with the round of 16, will consist of single-leg ties.

• The semi-finals and the final will be played on 17 and 20 April respectively at the Colovray Stadium opposite UEFA's Swiss headquarters in Nyon.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY

• Players are eligible to play in the competition if they were born on or after 1 January 2001.

• Additionally, up to five players born on or after 1 January 2000 may be included on the squad list of 40 players, provided the player has been eligible to play for the club concerned without interruption for the two years immediately preceding 17 September 2019, or has been eligible to play for the club concerned for two of the three years immediately preceding 17 September 2019 and registered with a maximum of one other club from the same association for an uninterrupted period of up to one year for the other one.

More information can be found in the competition's official regulations.

SEASON CALENDAR

Pre-season draws
UEFA Champions League group stage draw: 18:00CET, Thursday, Monaco
Domestic champions path draw (both rounds): 14:00CET, Tuesday, Nyon

Autumn matches
UEFA Champions League path matchday one: 17/18 September
UEFA Champions League path matchday two: 1/2 October
Domestic champions path round one, first leg: 2 October
UEFA Champions League path matchday three: 22/23 October
Domestic champions path round one, second leg: 23 October
UEFA Champions League path matchday four: 5/6 November
Domestic champions path round two, first leg: 6 November
UEFA Champions League path matchday five: 26/27 November
Domestic champions path round two, second leg: 27 November
UEFA Champions League path matchday six: 10/11 December

Knockout dates

Play-off draw: 16 December
Play-offs: 11/12 February
Knockout draw (round of 16 onwards): 14 February
Round of 16: 3/4 March
Quarter-finals: 17/18 March
Semi-final: 17 April, Nyon
Final: 20 April, Nyon