Champions League Dates
After four qualifying rounds which begin in June, the group stage begins in September and finishes in December. The first knockout round is held in February with the champions league final being the last game of the club season in June. Upcoming champions league draw dates are:
he Champions League was originally the Champions Cup, which first began in 1955 as a straightforward knockout competition.
In 1992, UEFA renamed it the Champions League and introduced the first group stage into the competition. Over time, the format has changed with 32 teams now competing in the group stage. The top two in each group progress to a knockout competition whilst the third placed teams drop into the Europa League.
The 2024-25 UEFA Champions League season will begin on July 9, 2024, and conclude with the final on May 31, 2025, at Munich's Fußball Arena München (Aka, Allianz Arena). Here's an overview of the key dates for the season:
Qualifying Rounds
- First Qualifying Round: July 9/10 and 16/17, 2024
- Second Qualifying Round: July 23/24 and 30/31, 2024
- Third Qualifying Round: August 6/7 and 13, 2024
- Play-offs: August 20/21 and 27/28, 2024
League Phase Matches
- Matchday 1: September 17-19, 2024
- Matchday 2: October 1/2, 2024
- Matchday 3: October 22/23, 2024
- Matchday 4: November 5/6, 2024
- Matchday 5: November 26/27, 2024
- Matchday 6: December 10/11, 2024
- Matchday 7: January 21/22, 2025
- Matchday 8: January 29, 2025
Knockout Stages
- Knockout Round Play-offs: February 11/12 and 18/19, 2025
- Round of 16: March 4/5 and 11/12, 2025
- Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and 15/16, 2025
- Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
- Final: May 31, 2025
When are the 2024/25 Champions League draws taking place?
- First Qualifying Round Draw: June 18, 2024
- Second Qualifying Round Draw: June 19, 2024
- Third Qualifying Round Draw: July 22, 2024
- Play-offs Draw: August 5, 2024
- League Phase Draw: August 29, 2024
- Knockout Round Play-offs Draw: January 31, 2025
- Round of 16, Quarter-final, Semi-final Draws: February 21, 2025
All dates are provisional and subject to change by the official organizer.
The recent UEFA Champions League winners
- 2024: Real Madrid CF
- 2023: Manchester City
- 2022: Paris Saint-Germain FC
- 2021: Chelsea FC
- 2020: Bayern Munich
- 2019: Liverpool FC
- 2018: Real Madrid CF
First Winner
Real Madrid won the first Champions Cup in 1956, beating French side Stade de Reims 4 – 3 in Paris.
Marseille were the first winners of the Champions League in 1992 after they won 1 – 0 against AC Milan in Munich. The French club were allowed to retain the trophy despite being found guilty of corruption in the French League and being punished with relegation to Ligue 2.
Most Champions League Wins
One club has dominated the list of winners: Real Madrid. The Spanish giants won the first five competitions and have gone on to win eleven times and runners-up three times:
Winners (11) 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016
Runners-up (3): 1962, 1964, 1981
The top five winning clubs are:
- AC Milan (7): 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007
- Bayern Munich (5): 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013
- FC Barcelona (5): 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011,2015
- Liverpool (6): 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019
Most Memorable Moment in the Champions League
The greatest final was in 1960, the last of Real Madrid’s five-in-a-row. They beat German side, Eintracht Frankfurt 7 – 3 in Glasgow with Alfredo di Stefano scoring a hat-trick and Ferenc Puskas grabbing four.
Many fantastic goals have been scored down the years, some truly memorable from the greatest footballers who ever played the game: Puskas, di Stefano, Eusebio, Cruyff, Maradona, Muller, Dalglish through to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The most memorable in a final came in 2002 when Zinedine Zidane scored a stupendous volley for Real Madrid against Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow. The ball dropped over his shoulder and the French genius lashed home what proved to be the winning goal.
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