UEFA Champions League 2014-15

The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League will be the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
The 2015 UEFA Champions League Final will be played at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany.
This will be the first season where clubs must comply with UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations in order to participate. A team from Gibraltar, whose football association was accepted as the 54th UEFA member at the UEFA Congress in May 2013, will also make its debut in the competition.
==Association team allocation==
A total of 77 or 78 teams from 53 of the 54 UEFA member associations are expected to participate in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League (the exception being Liechtenstein, which do not organise a domestic league). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:
*Associations 1–3 each have four teams qualify.
*Associations 4–6 each have three teams qualify.
*Associations 7–15 each have two teams qualify.
*Associations 16–54 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify.
*The winners of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League are given an additional entry as title holders if they do not qualify for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league (because of the restriction that no association can have more than four teams playing in the Champions League, if the title holders are from the top three associations and finish outside the top four in their domestic league, the title holders' entry comes at the expense of the fourth-placed team of their association).
===Distribution===
The following is the default allocation system, and is subject to changes. If the title holders qualify for the Champions League through their domestic league, changes to the default allocation system will be made as certain spots are vacated. When moving entrants to later rounds to compensate for vacated spots, priority is given to champions of the highest-ranked associations.
 	 	Teams entering in this round	Teams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round(8 teams) 	First qualifying round(8 teams) 	
*8 champions from associations 47–54	
Second qualifying round(34 teams)	Second qualifying round(34 teams)	
*30 champions from associations 16–46 (except Liechtenstein)	
*4 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round 	Champions(20 teams) 	
*3 champions from associations 13–15	
*17 winners from the second qualifying round
Third qualifying round 	Non-champions(10 teams) 	
*9 runners-up from associations 7–15
*1 third-placed team from association 6	
Play-off round 	Champions(10 teams) 	 	
*10 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
Play-off round 	Non-champions(10 teams) 	
*2 third-placed teams from associations 4 and 5
*3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3	
*5 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions
Group stage(32 teams) 	Group stage(32 teams) 	
*Title holders
*12 champions from associations 1–12
*6 runners-up from associations 1–6
*3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3	
*5 winners from the play-off round for champions
*5 winners from the play-off round for non-champions
Knockout phase(16 teams) 	Knockout phase(16 teams) 	 	
*8 group winners from the group stage
*8 group runners-up from the group stage
;If the title holders qualify for the group stage
*The champions of association 13 (Switzerland) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage.
*The champions of association 16 (Austria) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
*The champions of associations 47 (Northern Ireland) and 48 (Wales) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
;If the title holders qualify for the play-off round (non-champions)
*The third-placed team of association 6 (France) and the runners-up of association 7 (Ukraine) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round.
Because of the restriction that no association can have more than four teams playing in the Champions League, if the title holders are from the top three associations (Spain, England, Germany) and finish outside the top four in their domestic league, the fourth-placed team of their association, which would have entered in the Champions League play-off round, will be moved from the Champions League to the Europa League. In this case, the allocation system for the Champions League will be changed in the same way as above.
;If the title holders qualify for the third qualifying round (champions)
*The champions of association 16 (Austria) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
*The champions of associations 47 (Northern Ireland) and 48 (Wales) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
;If the title holders qualify for the third qualifying round (non-champions)
*The third-placed team of association 6 (France) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round. If the title holders are the third-placed team of association 6, then the runners-up of association 7 (Ukraine) are promoted.
;If the title holders qualify for the second qualifying round
*The champions of associations 47 (Northern Ireland) and 48 (Wales) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
==Round and draw dates==
All draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise.
Phase 	Round 	Draw date 	First leg 	Second leg
Qualifying 	First qualifying round 	23 June 2014 	1–2 July 2014 	8–9 July 2014
Qualifying 	Second qualifying round	23 June 2014 	15–16 July 2014 	22–23 July 2014
Qualifying 	Third qualifying round 	18 July 2014 	29–30 July 2014 	5–6 August 2014
Play-off 	Play-off round 	8 August 2014 	19–20 August 2014 	26–27 August 2014
Group stage 	Matchday 1 	28 August 2014(Monaco)	16–17 September 2014 	16–17 September 2014
Group stage 	Matchday 2 	28 August 2014(Monaco)	30 September–1 October 2014 	30 September–1 October 2014
Group stage 	Matchday 3 	28 August 2014(Monaco)	21–22 October 2014 	21–22 October 2014
Group stage 	Matchday 4 	28 August 2014(Monaco)	4–5 November 2014 	4–5 November 2014
Group stage 	Matchday 5 	28 August 2014(Monaco)	25–26 November 2014 	25–26 November 2014
Group stage 	Matchday 6 	28 August 2014(Monaco)	9–10 December 2014 	9–10 December 2014
Knockout phase	Round of 16 	15 December 2014 	17–18 & 24–25 February 2015 	10–11 & 17–18 March 2015
Knockout phase	Quarter-finals 	20 March 2015 	14–15 April 2015 	21–22 April 2015
Knockout phase	Semi-finals 	24 April 2015 	5–6 May 2015 	12–13 May 2015
Knockout phase	Final 	24 April 2015 	6 June 2015 at Olympic Stadium, Berlin	6 June 2015 at Olympic Stadium, Berlin
==Qualifying rounds==
In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams will be divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2014 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
===First qualifying round===
8 teams enter in the first qualifying round.
* Levadia Tallinn CC: 4.575
* HB CC: 3.175
* Champions of 2013–14 NIFL Premiership
* Champions of 2013–14 Welsh Premier League
* Champions of 2013–14 Armenian Premier League
* Champions of 2013–14 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio
* Champions of 2013–14 Primera Divisió
* Champions of 2013–14 Gibraltar Premier Division
===Second qualifying round===
34 teams play in the second qualifying round: 30 teams which enter in this round, and the 4 winners from the first qualifying round.
* BATE Borisov CC: 33.725
* Aktobe CC: TBD
* Ventspils CC: 7.750
* HJK CC: 7.435
* Malmö FF CC: TBD
* KR CC: 5.350
* Strømsgodset CC: TBD
* St Patrick's Athletic CC: 4.775
* Žalgiris Vilnius CC: 3.050
* Champions of 2013–14 Austrian Football Bundesliga
* Champions of 2013–14 Gambrinus liga
* Champions of 2013–14 Liga I
* Champions of 2013–14 Israeli Premier League
* Champions of 2013–14 Ekstraklasa
* Champions of 2013–14 Prva HNL
* Champions of 2013–14 Scottish Premiership
* Champions of 2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga
* Champions of 2013–14 Slovak First Football League
* Champions of 2013–14 A PFG
* Champions of 2013–14 Nemzeti Bajnokság I
* Champions of 2013–14 Slovenian PrvaLiga
* Champions of 2013–14 Umaglesi Liga
* Champions of 2013–14 Azerbaijan Premier League
* Champions of 2013–14 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Champions of 2013–14 Moldovan National Division
* Champions of 2013–14 Montenegrin First League
* Champions of 2013–14 First Macedonian Football League
* Champions of 2013–14 Albanian Superliga
* Champions of 2013–14 Maltese Premier League
* Champions of 2013–14 Luxembourg National Division
===Third qualifying round===
The third qualifying round will be split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The losing teams in both sections will enter the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League play-off round.
====Champions====
20 teams play in the third qualifying round for champions: 3 teams which enter in this round, and the 17 winners from the second qualifying round.
* Champions of 2013–14 Swiss Super League
* Champions of 2013–14 Cypriot First Division
* Champions of 2013–14 Danish Superliga
====Non-champions====
10 teams enter in the third qualifying round for non-champions.
* Third-placed team of 2013–14 Ligue 1
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Ukrainian Premier League
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Russian Premier League
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Eredivisie
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Süper Lig
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Belgian Pro League
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Superleague Greece
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Swiss Super League
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Cypriot First Division
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Danish Superliga
==Play-off round==
The play-off round will be split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The losing teams in both sections will enter the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage.
===Champions===
The 10 winners from the third qualifying round for champions play in the play-off round for champions.
===Non-champions===
10 teams play in the play-off round for non-champions: 5 teams which enter in this round, and the 5 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions.
* Fourth-placed team of 2013–14 La Liga
* Fourth-placed team of 2013–14 Premier League
* Fourth-placed team of 2013–14 Bundesliga
* Third-placed team of 2013–14 Serie A
* Third-placed team of 2013–14 Primeira Liga
==Group stage==
32 teams play in the group stage: 22 teams which enter in this stage, and the 10 winners from the play-off round (5 champions and 5 non-champions).
*Winners of 2013–14 UEFA Champions League
* Champions of 2013–14 La Liga
* Runners-up of 2013–14 La Liga
* Third-placed team of 2013–14 La Liga
* Champions of 2013–14 Premier League
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Premier League
* Third-placed team of 2013–14 Premier League
* Champions of 2013–14 Bundesliga
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Bundesliga
* Third-placed team of 2013–14 Bundesliga
* Champions of 2013–14 Serie A
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Serie A
* Champions of 2013–14 Primeira Liga
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Primeira Liga
* Champions of 2013–14 Ligue 1
* Runners-up of 2013–14 Ligue 1
* Champions of 2013–14 Ukrainian Premier League
* Champions of 2013–14 Russian Premier League
* Champions of 2013–14 Eredivisie
* Champions of 2013–14 Süper Lig
* Champions of 2013–14 Belgian Pro League
* Champions of 2013–14 Superleague Greece
The 32 teams will be allocated into four pots based on their 2014 UEFA club coefficients, with the title holders being placed in Pot 1 automatically. They will be drawn into eight groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
In each group, teams will play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up will advance to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams will enter the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League round of 32.
Teams that qualify for the group stage will also participate in the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League, a competition available to players aged 19 or under.
==Knockout phase==
In the knockout phase, teams will play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:
*In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners will be seeded, and the eight group runners-up will be unseeded. The seeded teams will be drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
*In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there will be no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association can be drawn against each other.
==See also==
*2014–15 UEFA Europa League
*2015 UEFA Super Cup
*2015 FIFA Club World Cup
==References==
==External links==
*UEFA Champions League (official website)
2014-15
Category:UEFA Champions League seasons