The 2022-23 UEFA Champions League will kick off with the preliminary qualifying round semifinals on June 21 which will start the journey to fill up the remaining slots for the UCL Group Stages, which will start in September.
However, 26 teams, including the UCL holders, Europa League holders, respective league champions from the top 12 associations, have already booked their spots for the Group Stage draw, which is scheduled to take place in August.
Also, 6 runners-up from leagues of associations 1-6, 4 third-placed teams from associations 1-4 and 4 fourth-placed teams from associations 1-4 have also reached the group stages.
Top 12 Association Rankings for UCL 2022-23
Ranking | Association |
1 | England |
2 | Spain |
3 | Italy |
4 | Germany |
5 | France |
6 | Portugal |
7 | Netherlands |
8 | Russia |
9 | Belgium |
10 | Austria |
11 | Scotland |
12 | Ukraine |
Six more teams will join the already qualified teams in time for the group stage draw following the qualifying process - preliminary qualifying round in June followed by first qualifying round which takes place in July and the qualifying is set to conclude with play-offs in August.
Here is the UCL qualifying and play-off draw dates and match dates:
Round | Draw Date | First Leg Dates | Second Leg Dates |
Preliminary round | June 7 | 21 June 2022 (semi-finals) | 24 June 2022 (final) |
First qualifying round | June 14 | 5–6 July 2022 | 12–13 July 2022 |
Second qualifying round | June 15 | 19–20 July 2022 | 26–27 July 2022 |
Third qualifying round | July 18 | 2–3 August 2022 | 9 August 2022 |
Play-offs | August 1 | 16–17 August 2022 | 23–24 August 2022 |
As mentioned earlier, 26 teams have already booked their slots for the group stage draw. Which are the clubs that have qualified for UCL 2022-23 group stages? Check out the clubs and how they qualified with pot numbers below:
Sl No. | Team | Qualification Route | Pot No. |
1 | Real Madrid | La Liga Champions and UCL Holders | 1 |
2 | Manchester City | Premier League Champions | 1 |
3 | Milan | Serie A Champions | 1 |
4 | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga Champions | 1 |
5 | PSG | Ligue 1 Champions | 1 |
6 | Porto | Primeira Liga Champions | 1 |
7 | Ajax | Eredivisie Champions | 1 |
8 | Celtic | Scottish Premier League Champions | 4 |
9 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Ukrainian Premier League Champions | 3 |
10 | RB Salzburg | Austrian Bundesliga Champions | 3 |
11 | Club Brugge | Belgian First Division A | 4 |
12 | Eintracht Frankfurt | Europa League Champions | 1 |
13 | Liverpool | Premier League 2nd Place | 2 |
14 | Barcelona | La Liga 2nd Place | 2 |
15 | Inter | Serie A 2nd Place | 3 |
16 | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga 2nd Place | 3 |
17 | Marseille | Ligue 1 2nd Place | 3 or 4 |
18 | Sporting CP | Primeira Liga 2nd Place | 3 |
19 | Chelsea | Premier League 3rd Place | 2 |
20 | Atletico Madrid | La Liga 3rd Place | 2 |
21 | Napoli | Serie A 3rd Place | 3 |
22 | Bayer Leverkusen | Bundesliga 3rd Place | 3 |
23 | Tottenham | Premier League 4th Place | 2 |
24 | Sevilla | La Liga 4th Place | 2 |
25 | Juventus | Serie A 4th Place | 2 |
26 | RB Leipzig | Bundesliga 4th Place | 2 |
When is the UCL 2022-23 Group Stage Draw?
The Champions League 2022-23 season group stage draw will take place on August 25, 2022, a day after the play-off matches. The draw will take place in Istanbul, Turkey and will start at 6 PM CEST (9:30 PM IST).
With the World Cup being staged in November-December this year, the group stage matches have been scheduled to start in September and conclude by November 2, 2022.
The Group Stage will feature 32 teams divided into 8 groups of 4 teams with each team facing the remaining three in their respective groups in double round-robin (home and away) matches.
Here is the schedule for UCL 2022-23 Group Stage matches:
UCL Group Stage Matchday | Dates |
1 | 6–7 September 2022 |
2 | 13–14 September 2022 |
3 | 4–5 October 2022 |
4 | 11–12 October 2022 |
5 | 25–26 October 2022 |
6 | 1–2 November 2022 |