2022–23 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round
Football tournament
The 2022–23 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round is scheduled to take place between on 21 June and ended on 24 August 2022.[1]
A total of 53, 54 or 55 teams are expected to compete in the qualifying system of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League, which includes the qualifying phase and the play-off round, with 42 or 43 teams in Champions Path and 10 or 11 teams in League Path. The six winners in the play-off round (four from Champions Path, two from League Path) advanced to the group stage, to join the 26 teams that enter in the group stage.[2]
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
The Champions Path includes all league champions which do not qualify directly for the group stage, and consists of the following rounds:
Preliminary round (4 teams playing one-legged semi-finals and final): 4 teams which enter in this round.
First qualifying round (30 teams): 29 teams which enter in this round, and 1 winner of the preliminary round.
Second qualifying round (20 teams): 5 teams which enter in this round, and 15 winners of the first qualifying round.
Third qualifying round (12 teams): 2 teams which enter in this round, and 10 winners of the second qualifying round.
Play-off round (8 teams): 2 teams which enter in this round, and 6 winners of the third qualifying round.
All teams eliminated from the Champions Path enter either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League:
The 3 losers of the preliminary round and 13 losers of the first qualifying round enter the Europa Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round.
The 2 drawn losers of the first qualifying round enter the Europa Conference League Champions Path third qualifying round.
The 10 losers of the second qualifying round enter the Europa League Champions Path qualifying round
The 6 losers of the third qualifying round enter the Europa League play-off round.
Each tie, apart from the preliminary round, is played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advance to the next round. If the aggregate score is level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time is played, and if the same amount of goals are scored by both teams during extra time, the tie is decided by a penalty shoot-out.[4]
In the preliminary round, the semi-finals and final are played as a single match hosted by one of the participating teams. If the score is level at the end of normal time, extra time is played, and if the same amount of goals are scored by both teams during extra time, the tie is decided by a penalty shoot-out.
In the draws for each round, teams are 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 is drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs (or the administrative "home" team in the preliminary round matches) in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round is not known at the time of the draws, the seeding is carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advances to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient is to advance, it simply takes the seeding of its opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they are purely for convenience of the draw and do not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA may not be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie may be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland).[1]
Schedule for the qualifying phase of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League
Round
Draw date
First leg
Second leg
Preliminary round
7 June 2022
21 June 2022 (semi-finals)
24 June 2022 (final)
First qualifying round
14 June 2022
5–6 July 2022
12–13 July 2022
Second qualifying round
15 June 2022
19–20 July 2022
26–27 July 2022
Third qualifying round
18 July 2022
2–3 August 2022
9 August 2022
Play-offs
1 August 2022
16–17 August 2022
23–24 August 2022
Preliminary round
The preliminary round will consist of two semi-finals on 21 June 2022 and the final on 24 June 2022. The draw for the preliminary round will be held on 7 June 2022.
Seeding
A total of four teams will play in the preliminary round. Seeding of teams will be based on their 2022 UEFA club coefficients,[3] with two seeded teams and two unseeded teams in the semi-finals. The first team drawn in each tie in the semi-finals, and also the final (between the two winners of the semi-finals, whose identity was not known at the time of draw), would be the "home" team for administrative purposes.
The preliminary round matches will consist of two semi-finals on 21 June 2022 and the final on 24 June 2022.
The winner of the preliminary round final will advance to the first qualifying round. The losers of the semi-finals and final will be transferred to the Europa Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round.
The draw for the first round will be held on 14 June 2022.[1]
Seeding
A total of 30 teams will play in the first qualifying round: 29 teams which enter in this round, and 1 winner of the preliminary round. Seeding of teams will be based on their 2022 UEFA club coefficients.[3] For the winner of the preliminary round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team will be used. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team of the first leg.
The first legs will be played on 5 and 6 July, and the second legs were played on 12 and 13 July 2022.
The winners of the ties advanced to the Champions Path second qualifying round. The losers will be transferred to the Europa Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round.
The draw for the second qualifying round will be held on 15 June 2022.
Seeding
A total of 24 teams will play in the second qualifying round. They will be divided into two paths:
Champions Path (20 teams): 5 teams which enter in this round, and 15 winners of the first qualifying round.
League Path (4 teams): 4 teams which enter in this round.
Seeding of teams will be based on their 2022 UEFA club coefficients.[3] For the winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie will be used. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team of the first leg.
Qualified teams
The winners of the ties will advance to the third qualifying round of their respective path. The Champions Path losers will be transferred to the Europa League Champions Path qualifying round, while the League Path losers will be transferred to the Europa League Main Path qualifying round.
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round will be held on 18 July 2022.
Seeding
A total of 20 teams will play in the third qualifying round. They will be divided into two paths:
Champions Path (12 teams): 2 teams which enter in this round, and 10 winners of the second qualifying round (Champions Path).
League Path (8 teams): 6 teams which enter in this round, and 2 winners of the second qualifying round (League Path).
Seeding of teams will be based on their 2022 UEFA club coefficients.[3] For the winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie will be used. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team of the first leg.
Qualified teams
The winners of the ties will advance to the play-off round of their respective path. The Champions Path losers will be transferred to the Europa League play-off round, while the League Path losers will be transferred to the Europa League group stage.
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round will be held on 1 August 2022.
Seeding
A total of 12 teams will play in the play-off round. They will be divided into two paths:
Champions Path (8 teams): 2 teams which enter in this round, and 6 winners of the third qualifying round (Champions Path).
League Path (4 teams): 4 winners of the third qualifying round (League Path).
Seeding of teams will be based on their 2022 UEFA club coefficients.[3] For the winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie will be used. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team of the first leg.
