Introduction

The UEFA Champions League is Europe’s most prestigious club competition. The current format brings together 32 of the best clubs from across Europe and features some of the best players in the world.

The competition – previously referred to as the European Champion Clubs’ Cup – was founded in 1955 by Gabriel Hanot an editor for the French sports daily L'Equipe.  The major turning point in the evolution of the competition came in the 1992/93 season when the UEFA Champions League, involving a group stage in addition to the traditional knockout elements, was officially inaugurated. The popularity of the group phase has witnessed the competition grow from eight to 32 teams with matches taking place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays across Europe.

The winner of the UEFA Champions League is considered the best club team in Europe and competes against the top clubs from FIFA’s other confederations at the FIFA Club World Cup held every year in December.

 2009/10 Season

From the 2009/10 season onwards, there will be four qualifying rounds (including a play-off round), a group stage and a knockout round.

 Qualifying Round

In a new system for the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League season there are two separate qualifying tournaments. The ‘Champions Path’ is for the Champion clubs who did not automatically qualify for the group stage. The ‘Non-Champions Path’ is for teams who did not win their domestic league and did not automatically qualify for the group stage.
Teams compete in home-and-away ties and five teams from each path qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stages.

 Groups Stage

The 32 clubs participating in the group stage are divided into eight groups of four teams who all compete in home and away matches between September and December to determine which teams will compete in the knockout rounds. The third placed team in each group qualify for the first knockout round of the UEFA Europa League.

 Knockout Phase

In the first knockout round, the eight group winners and eight runners-up from the group stage are drawn into eight pairs of home-and-away matches. Teams from the same group and teams from the same national association may not be drawn against each other.

The winners of the first knockout round are then drawn into four pairs of home-and-away matches (national association and previous group status are not taken into consideration for this draw). The winners of these matches advance to the semi-final.

 Final

This year, the final is to be played on a Saturday, with kick-off time at 20.45 CET. The venue for the final is the legendary Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.