UEFA Youth League Domestic Champions path draw

The 32 Domestic Champions path teams compete for eight play-off berths in two rounds of home-and-away knockout ties.

First round draw (2/3 & 23/24 October)

Altınordu (TUR) v HJK Helsinki (FIN)
Žilina (SVK) v Montpellier (FRA)
Basel (SUI) v Hamilton Academical (SCO)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) v Septemvri Sofia (BUL)
Elfsborg (SWE) v KR (ISL)
Anderlecht (BEL) v FC Admira (AUT)
Midtjylland (DEN) v Bohemians (IRL)
Chelsea (ENG) v Molde (NOR)
AEL Limassol (CYP) v PAOK (GRE)
Sigma Olomouc (CZE) v Maribor (SVN)
Gabala (AZE) v Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA)
Hertha Berlin (GER) v Lech Poznań (POL)
Astana (KAZ) v Vllaznia (ALB)
Anji (RUS) v Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)
Viitorul (ROU) v Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Minsk (BLR) v Illés Akadémia (HUN)

Second round (7 & 28 November)

Anderlecht (BEL)/FC Admira (AUT) v Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)/Septemvri Sofia (BUL)
Midtjylland (DEN)/Bohemians (IRL) v Basel (SUI) v Hamilton Academical (SCO)
Altınordu (TUR)/HJK Helsinki (FIN) v Žilina (SVK)/Montpellier (FRA)
Elfsborg (SWE)/KR (ISL) v Chelsea (ENG)/Molde (NOR)
AEL Limassol (CYP)/PAOK (GRE) v Minsk (BLR)/ Illés Akadémia (HUN)
Gabala (AZE)/Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA) v Hertha Berlin (GER)/Lech Poznań (POL)
Astana (KAZ)/Vllaznia (ALB) v Viitorul (ROU)/Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Sigma Olomouc (CZE)/Maribor (SVN) v Anji (RUS)/Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)

Domestic Champions path guide

• This path involves the domestic youth champions of the 32 best-ranked associations in the 2017 UEFA association coefficient rankings (the same rankings used to decide access to the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League).

• Vacancies in the domestic champions path (because a club is instead eligible for the UEFA Champions League path, for example Atlético and Inter) are filled by the domestic youth champion of the next best-ranked association (in the above cases, Moldova and Iceland).

• Chelsea, who won this competition in 2014/15 and 2015/16 but lost last season's final to Barcelona, enter this path.

• Two-time semi-finalists Anderlecht keep up their record of entering all six editions.

• Debuts: AEL Limassol, Anji, Bohemians, FC Admira, Hamilton Academical, Hertha Berlin, Illés Akadémia, Lech Poznań, KR, Montpellier, Septemvri Sofia, Signa Olomouc, Žilina.

Road to Nyon

Play-offs
In the draw on 17 December, 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 be played on 12/13 February to decide the eight remaining round of 16 berths. The other eight places are taken by the UEFA Champions League path group winners.

Dates
Play-off draw: 17 December
Play-offs: 19/20 February
Knockout draw (round of 16 onwards): 22 February
Round of 16: 12/13 March
Quarter-finals: 2/3 April
Semi-final: 26 April, Nyon
Final: 29 April, Nyon

How the draw worked

First round (3 & 24 October)

• Four geographical groups were formed, with no seeding.

Group 1
Montpellier (FRA)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Altınordu (TUR)
Basel (SUI)
Hamilton Academical (SCO)
Septemvri Sofia (BUL)
Žilina (SVK)
HJK Helsinki (FIN)

Group 2
Chelsea (ENG)
Anderlecht (BEL)
FC Admira (AUT)
Midtjylland (DEN)
Elfsborg (SWE)
Molde (NOR)
KR (ISL)
Bohemians (IRL)

Group 3
Hertha Berlin (GER)
Sigma Olomouc (CZE)
PAOK (GRE)
Lech Poznań (POL)
AEL Limassol (CYP)
Gabala (AZE)
Maribor (SVN)
Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA)

Group 4
Anji (RUS)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Viitorul (ROU)
Minsk (BEL)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)
Astana (KAZ)
Illés Akadémia (HUN)
Vllaznia (ALB)

• For all four groups, one pot was prepared with eight balls, with each ball containing the name of a domestic champions path team.

• Starting with Group 1, the eight balls were placed in a large central bowl and shuffled.

• Two balls were drawn from this bowl. These teams will play each other, with the first team drawn playing the first match at home and the return away.

• The same previous step was carried out with the remaining balls in the bowl to complete the pairings for Group 1.

• The last three steps were then carried out for the other groups.

Second round (7 & 28 November)

• The 16 first-round pairings were split into two geographical groups (Groups A and B) consisting of eight pairings each, with no seedings.

• Group A contained the pairings of Group 1 ('Winner of match 1' to 'Winner of match 4') and Group 2 ('Winner of match 5' to 'Winner of match 8') from the first round; Group B contained the pairings of Group 3 ('Winner of match 9' to 'Winner of match 12') and Group 4 ('Winner of match 13' to 'Winner of match 16').

• For Group A, all the pairings from Group 1 and Group 2 were placed in a large central bowl and shuffled.

• Two balls were drawn from the bowl. These pairings will play each other, with the first pairing drawn playing the first match at home and the return away.

• The same previous step was carried out with the remaining balls in the bowl to complete the pairings for Group A.

• The last three steps was then carried out for Groups 3 and 4 to determine Group B.