2025–26 UEFA Champions League qualifying

The qualifying phase and play-off round were split into two paths – the Champions Path and the League Path. The Champions Path contained teams which qualified as the winners of their domestic league, and the League Path contained teams which qualified as runners-up, third-placed or fourth-placed teams from their domestic league. Each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time was played, and if the same number of goals was scored by both teams during extra time, the tie was determined by a penalty shoot-out. In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round may not have been known at the time of the draws, the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to the subsequent round, which meant if the team with the lower coefficient advanced, it simply took the seeding of its opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA could form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee purely for the convenience of the draw and not to resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA could not be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie could be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts. ==Schedule==

The schedule of the competition was as follows. ==Teams==

The information below reflects Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA. Champions Path The Champions Path included all league champions which did not qualify directly for the league phase, and consisted of the following rounds: • First qualifying round (28 teams): 28 teams which entered in this round. • Second qualifying round (24 teams): 10 teams which entered in this round, and 14 winners of the first qualifying round. • Third qualifying round (12 teams): 12 winners of the second qualifying round. • Play-off round (10 teams): 4 teams which entered in this round, and 6 winners of the third qualifying round. The default access list could be altered based on the qualifying teams' 2025 UEFA club coefficients should the winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League also have qualified for the 2025–26 edition via their domestic league. All teams eliminated from the Champions Path entered either the Europa League or the Conference League: • The losers of the first qualifying round entered the Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round unless drawn to receive a bye to the Conference League Champions Path third qualifying round. • The 12 losers of the second qualifying round entered the Europa League Champions Path third qualifying round • The 6 losers of the third qualifying round entered the Europa League play-off round. • The 5 losers of the play-off round entered the Europa League league phase. Below were the participating teams of the Champions Path (with their 2025 UEFA club coefficients), grouped by their starting rounds. League Path The League Path included all league non-champions which did not qualify directly for the league phase, and consisted of the following rounds: • Second qualifying round (6 teams): 6 teams which entered in this round. • Third qualifying round (8 teams): 5 teams which entered in this round, and 3 winners of the second qualifying round. • Play-off round (4 teams): 4 winners of the third qualifying round. All teams eliminated from the League Path entered the Europa League: • The 3 losers of the second qualifying round entered the Main Path third qualifying round. • The 4 losers of the third qualifying round entered the league phase. • The 2 losers of the play-off round entered the league phase. Below were the participating teams of the League Path (with their 2025 UEFA club coefficients), grouped by their starting rounds. ==First qualifying round==

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 17 June 2025. Seeding A total of 28 teams played in the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2025 UEFA club coefficients. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg. Summary The first legs were played on 8 and 9 July, and the second legs were played on 15 and 16 July 2025. The winners of the ties advanced to the Champions Path second qualifying round. Twelve of the losing teams were transferred to the Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round, and the other two losing teams (selected via a draw) were transferred to the Conference League Champions Path third qualifying round. Matches 2–2 on aggregate; Hamrun Spartans won 11–10 on penalties. ---- KuPS won 1–0 on aggregate. ---- Shkëndija won 2–1 on aggregate. ---- Malmö FF won 6–2 on aggregate. ---- RFS won 2–0 on aggregate. ---- Drita won 4–2 on aggregate. ---- Lincoln Red Imps won 4–2 on aggregate. ---- Breiðablik won 5–1 on aggregate. ---- Shelbourne won 2–1 on aggregate. ---- FCSB won 4–3 on aggregate. ---- Zrinjski Mostar won 4–1 on aggregate. ---- Kairat won 3–1 on aggregate. ---- Noah won 3–2 on aggregate. ---- Ludogorets Razgrad won 3–2 on aggregate. ==Second qualifying round==

The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 18 June 2025. Seeding A total of 30 teams played in the second qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2025 UEFA club coefficients. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg. ;Notes Summary The first legs were played on 22 and 23 July, and the second legs were played on 29 and 30 July 2025. The winners of the ties advanced to the third qualifying round. The losers were transferred to the Europa League third qualifying round. Champions Path matches Malmö FF won 5–1 on aggregate. ---- Dynamo Kyiv won 6–0 on aggregate. ---- Pafos won 2–1 on aggregate. ---- Red Star Belgrade won 6–1 on aggregate. ---- Ferencváros won 6–4 on aggregate. ---- Lech Poznań won 8–1 on aggregate. ---- Copenhagen won 3–0 on aggregate. ---- Ludogorets Razgrad won 3–1 on aggregate. ---- Shkëndija won 3–1 on aggregate. ---- Slovan Bratislava won 6–2 on aggregate. ---- Qarabağ won 4–0 on aggregate. ---- Kairat won 3–2 on aggregate. League Path matches Red Bull Salzburg won 5–2 on aggregate. ---- Viktoria Plzeň won 3–2 on aggregate. ---- Rangers won 3–1 on aggregate. ==Third qualifying round==

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 21 July 2025. Seeding ;Notes Summary The first legs were played on 5 and 6 August, and the second legs were played on 12 August 2025. The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round. The losers of the Champions Path were transferred to the Europa League play-off round. The losers of the League Path were transferred to the Europa League league phase. Champions Path matches Copenhagen won 5–0 on aggregate. ---- 1–1 on aggregate; Kairat won 4–3 on penalties. ---- Red Star Belgrade won 4–2 on aggregate. ---- Ferencváros won 3–0 on aggregate. ---- Pafos won 3–0 on aggregate. ---- Qarabağ won 6–1 on aggregate. League Path matches Club Brugge won 4–2 on aggregate. ---- Rangers won 4–2 on aggregate. ---- Benfica won 4–0 on aggregate. ---- Fenerbahçe won 6–4 on aggregate. ==Play-off round==

The draw for the play-off round was held on 4 August 2025. The first legs were played on 19 and 20 August, and the second legs were played on 26 and 27 August. Seeding A total of 14 teams played in the play-off round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2025 UEFA club coefficients. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg. ;Notes Summary The first legs were played on 19 and 20 August, and the second legs were played on 26 and 27 August 2025. The winners of the ties advanced to the league phase. The losers were transferred to the Europa League league phase. Champions Path matches Qarabağ won 5–4 on aggregate. ---- Pafos won 3–2 on aggregate. ---- Bodø/Glimt won 6–2 on aggregate. ---- 0–0 on aggregate; Kairat won 3–2 on penalties. ---- Copenhagen won 3–1 on aggregate. League Path matches Benfica won 1–0 on aggregate. ---- Club Brugge won 9–1 on aggregate. ==Notes==