Viking Make History as 36 Teams Learn Champions League Draw Fate Today
Viking FK have reached Europe’s elite competition for the first time, while Fenerbahçe, AEK Athens and Slovan Bratislava have completed the 36-team lineup for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase.
The final places in the expanded Champions League league phase were confirmed following a dramatic round of play-off second-leg fixtures, setting the stage for today’s highly anticipated draw in Monaco.
The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase draw will take place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco today, Thursday, August 27, with proceedings scheduled to begin at 5pm Nigerian time (6pm CET).
Norwegian side Viking FK made club history by reaching the main competition for the first time after defeating Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 in the second leg to secure a 5-3 aggregate victory.
Fenerbahçe also secured their place in the league phase after defeating Lyon 2-1 away from home to progress 3-2 on aggregate. The Turkish giants will return to the Champions League main stage for the first time in more than 15 years.
Greece’s AEK Athens comfortably eliminated Levski Sofia 4-0 on aggregate, while Slovan Bratislava edged Celje 2-1 after extra time to complete the final four qualifying places.
They joined Tuesday’s successful play-off winners, including Azerbaijan’s Sabah FK, Austria’s LASK and Norway’s Bodø/Glimt.
How the Champions League Draw Works
The 36 qualified clubs have been divided into four seeding pots based on their UEFA coefficient rankings.
Under the new league-phase format, every club will face eight different opponents — two from each of the four pots. Each team will play four matches at home and four away.
Pot 1
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid and Liverpool.
Pot 2
Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Porto, Club Brugge, Real Betis, PSV Eindhoven, Aston Villa and Manchester United.
Pot 3
Feyenoord, Lille, Bodø/Glimt, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.
Pot 4
Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, LASK, Como, Lens, Sabah FK, AEK Athens, Slovan Bratislava and Viking FK.
The draw will be conducted using an automated system because manually selecting opponents for all 36 teams would require hundreds of physical balls.
Several restrictions will also apply. Clubs cannot face another team from the same national association, while each club can play a maximum of two opponents from any one country.
The complete fixture schedule, including dates and kick-off times, is expected to be released by Saturday, August 29.
The 2026/27 Champions League league phase will officially begin on September 8, 2026, with Europe’s leading clubs competing for places in the knockout rounds.
