Which teams are in the 2023/24 Youth League?

The UEFA Youth League celebrates its tenth edition in 2023/24, with 64 teams competing for the title.

The contenders are equally split into two paths, the UEFA Champions League path and the domestic champions path, both of which are played through the rest of the year, before they come together for the knockout phase in 2024.

Who will line up in this season's UEFA Youth League?

UEFA Champions League path

Group A: Bayern München (GER), Manchester United (ENG), Copenhagen (DEN), Galatasaray (TUR)

Group B: Sevilla (ESP), Arsenal (ENG), PSV Eindhoven (NED), Lens (FRA)

Group C: Napoli (ITA), Real Madrid (ESP), Braga (POR), Union Berlin (GER)

Group D: Benfica (POR), Inter (ITA), Salzburg (AUT), Real Sociedad (ESP)

Group E: Feyenoord (NED), Atlético (ESP), Lazio (ITA), Celtic (SCO)

Group F: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Borussia Dortmund (GER), AC Milan (ITA), Newcastle United (ENG)

Group G: Manchester City (ENG), Leipzig (GER), Crvena zvezda (SRB), Young Boys (SUI)

Group H: Barcelona (ESP), Porto (POR), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Royal Antwerp (BEL)

Domestic champions path

First-round ties (4 & 25 October)

KKS Lech Poznań (POL) vs FC Nantes (FRA)
PAFOS F.C. (CYP) vs MŠK Žilina (SVK)
FC Ruh Lviv (UKR) vs FK Sarajevo (BIH)
AC Sparta Praha (CZE) vs Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR)
AZ Alkmaar (NED) vs Klaipeda FM (LTU)
Malmö FF (SWE) vs HJK Helsinki (FIN)
Molde FK (NOR) vs Hamilton Academical FC (SCO)
FC Famalicão (POR) vs FC Midtjylland (DEN)

FK Turan Turkistan (KAZ) vs FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA)
Universitatea Craiova (ROU) vs FK Partizan (SRB)
Olympiacos FC (GRE) vs US Lecce (ITA)
FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR) vs PFC Ludogorets 1945 (BUL)
NK Maribor (SVN) vs 1. FSV Mainz 05 (GER)
KAA Gent (BEL) vs FC Basel 1893 (SUI)
GNK Dinamo (CRO) vs İstanbul Basaksehir FK (TUR)
Gabala SC (AZE) vs Puskás Akadémia FC (HUN)

Second-round ties (8 & 29 November)

FC Ruh Lviv (UKR) / FK Sarajevo (BIH) vs FC Famalicão (POR) / FC Midtjylland (DEN)
KKS Lech Poznań (POL) / FC Nantes (FRA) vs Malmö FF (SWE) / HJK Helsinki (FIN)
Molde FK (NOR) / Hamilton Academical FC (SCO) vs AZ Alkmaar (NED) / Klaipeda FM (LTU)
AC Sparta Praha (CZE) / Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR) vs PAFOS F.C. (CYP) / MŠK Žilina (SVK)
KAA Gent (BEL) / FC Basel 1893 (SUI) vs GNK Dinamo (CRO) / İstanbul Basaksehir FK (TUR)
Gabala SC (AZE) / Puskás Akadémia FC (HUN) vs Olympiacos FC (GRE) / US Lecce (ITA)
NK Maribor (SVN) / 1. FSV Mainz 05 (GER) vs FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR) / PFC Ludogorets 1945 (BUL)
FK Turan Turkistan (KAZ) / FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA) vs Universitatea Craiova (ROU) / FK Partizan (SRB)

Team guide

• Along with holders AZ Alkmaar, other past champions involved are joint-record two-time winners Barcelona, plus Benfica, Porto, Real Madrid and Salzburg.

• Past runners-up Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar are also involved but 2022/23 finalists Hajduk Split have not qualified.

• Atlético, Barcelona, Bayern, Benfica, Man City, Paris, Porto and Real Madrid maintain their perfect record of having entered all ten editions of this competition, which began in 2013/14 (the 2020/21 edition was cancelled).

• Union Berlin and Mainz take the number of different German entrants in the competition's history to 13, a new record and one ahead of France, for whom Lens are the 12th different contenders.

• Along with Lens, Mainz and Union Berlin, also making their debuts are Braga and Famalicão (the first Portuguese entrants other than Benfica, Porto and Sporting CP), Antwerp, Dinamo Minsk, Istanbul Başakşehir, Klaipedos, Lazio, Lecce, Newcastle, Pafos, Partizan, Sarajevo, Turan Turkistan and Universitatea Craiova, meaning that the number of different contenders over the ten seasons is now past 200.

• For Famalicão, Klaipėdos, Lecce and Turan it is the first time their clubs have been represented in UEFA competition at any level.

What is the format of the UEFA Youth League?

The 32 clubs that compete in the UEFA Champions League path are those that take part in the group stage of the senior competition. They are joined by the 32 domestic youth champions from the highest-ranked entering associations whose senior team did not qualify for the Champions League group stage – these clubs take part in the domestic champions path (as do the UEFA Youth League titleholders if not otherwise qualified). If the senior team of a domestic youth champion qualify for the Champions League group stage, the vacant place is filled by the domestic youth champion of the next-ranked entering association.

*All Russian teams remain suspended from participation in UEFA competitions until further notice.

The groups in the Champions League path are identical to those in the senior competition (drawn in Monaco. The group winners will progress directly to the round of 16, with the runners-up going into the play-offs.

The domestic champions path teams compete in two rounds of two-legged knockout ties, drawn in Nyon. The eventual eight second-round winners then progress to the play-offs.

The knockout phase consists of one-off ties starting with the play-offs, where the eight domestic champions path winners will each be at home against one of the eight Champions League path group runners-up.

The eight play-off winners then join the eight Champions League path group winners in the round of 16. The semi-finals and final are, as always, played at a single venue.

Draw and match dates

UEFA Champions League path: group stage
Draw: 18:00 CET, 31 August, Monaco
Matchday 1: 19/20 September
Matchday 2: 3/4 October
Matchday 3: 24/25 October
Matchday 4: 7/8 November
Matchday 5: 28/29 November
Matchday 6: 12/13 December

Domestic champions path
Draw: 13:30 CET, 5 September, Nyon
Round 1 first leg: 4 October
Round 1 second leg: 25 October
Round 2 first leg: 8 November
Round 2 second leg: 29 November

Knockout phase
Play-off draw: 19 December, Nyon
Play-offs: 6/7 February
Knockout draw (round of 16 onwards): 9 February, Nyon
Round of 16: 27/28 February
Quarter-finals: 12/13 March
Semi-finals: 19 April
Final: 22 April