The UEFA Champions League (sometimes abbreviated to the UCL) is the premier men’s European club football competition, considered by many to be the pinnacle of the sport at club level. Contested annually by top clubs from around Europe, the Champions League pits the world’s best teams and players against one another at the highest level, producing virtually unrivalled sporting drama adored by billions around the globe.
- Champions League History
- Champions League Match Format
- Champions League Player Positions
- Champions League Key Rules
- Champions League Season Format
- Famous Champions League Players
- Champions League Terms Glossary
- Attending a Champions League Match
Champions League History
Inspired by the successful Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones (“South American Championship of Champions”) held in 1948, the idea of an elite European club tournament came to fruition in 1955, when the first-ever edition of the European Cup – as the competition was then known – took place. The European Cup was initially intended as a direct knockout competition reserved only for the champions of Europe's top divisions. However, the tournament gradually evolved and in 1992 UEFA renamed it the Champions League and changed its format to accommodate more than 1 club per country. With even more of the continent’s top teams contesting it each year, this move helped the competition develop into the behemoth it is today.
Throughout the tournament’s history, more than 20 clubs have lifted the trophy at least once. The undisputed kings of Europe are Real Madrid, who are by far the competition’s most successful club. Other prolific Champions League winners include AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool FC, and FC Barcelona, while the likes of Ajax, Manchester United, and Chelsea FC have also won it on more than one occasion. For more recently successful teams such as Paris Saint-Germain, being crowned as Europe’s best club remains their ultimate goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the competition’s record goalscorer, followed by Lionel Messi.
Champions League Match Format
The Champions League primarily follows the standard rules of football, in which 2 teams of 11 players compete to score the most goals during a match.
Champions League Match Duration
Champions League matches last the standard 90 minutes, split equally into 2 halves of 45 minutes apiece with a 15-minute half-time break in between. The referee may add more time on to the end of each half for injuries or other stoppages, since the clock is not stopped.
During the knockout phase, if the teams are tied at the end of 2nd-leg matches or the final, an additional 30 minutes of extra time will be played, followed by a penalty shootout if necessary.
Scoring & Winning a Champions League Match
The objective of any football match is to put the ball across your opponents’ goal line, and the Champions League is no different. During the league phase, if a match is tied at the final whistle then it ends in a draw with 1 point awarded to each team. In the knockout phase, the team with the highest aggregate score over the 2 legs of the tie (home and away) is the winner; should the teams be drawn at the end of the 2nd leg (or at the end of the one-off final) then 30 minutes of extra time will be played, followed by a penalty shootout if they still cannot be separated. The away goals rule – in which goals scored away from home counted for ever so slightly more when calculating the aggregate score – was scrapped in the 2021-22 season.
Champions League Player Positions
A football team is comprised of 11 players – a goalkeeper and 10 outfield players. Although outfield positions have become increasingly fluid in recent years as tactics and player roles have evolved, player positions can be typically divided into the following categories:
- Goalkeeper – the last line of defence between the ball and the goal, goalkeepers are the only players on the pitch allowed to touch the ball with their hands (inside their own penalty area only); goalkeepers are typically valued for their shot-stopping ability above all else, but some are increasingly valued for their ability to distribute the ball out from the back.
- Defender – players who operate directly in front of the goalkeeper, their primary job is to stop opposition attacks and limit the number of shots their keeper has to face. Depending on their position in the formation, they’re known as either centre-backs, right-backs, or left-backs; right-backs and left-backs are collectively known as full-backs. Most formations use 4 defenders, but some may use 3 or 5.
- Midfielder – players who play in the middle of the pitch, they can play several different roles in the team including protecting the defence, acting as the team’s playmaker, or getting forward to support the attack. Formations typically use 3, 4, or 5 midfielders.
- Forward – players who provide the team’s primary attacking threat; those who play down the middle (known as strikers or centre-forwards) are the players tasked with scoring goals, while wide forwards (more commonly known as wingers, who might also be classed as part of the midfield) are tasked with advancing the ball up the field and crossing it into the penalty area. Depending on the formation, a team will typically have 1, 2, or 3 forwards on the pitch.
Champions League Key Rules
Some of the key rules of the Champions League include:
- Offside – a player is offside if any part of their body (except their hands or arms) are closer to the opponent’s goal than the second-last opponent (since the goalkeeper will almost always be the last opponent, this is usually the outfield player closest to the goal). An offside offence is committed when a player – who was offside when the ball was played by their team-mate – touches or attempts to touch the ball or interferes with play, such as by obstructing an opponent.
- Handball – except for goalkeepers inside their own penalty area, players are prohibited from deliberately touching the ball with their hands or arms. Goals will also be disallowed even if an attacker accidentally touches it with their arm during the build-up, and defenders may be penalised for touching the ball if they have “made their body unnaturally bigger” such as blocking a shot or cross by leaving their arm outstretched.
- Back-Pass – goalkeepers may not pick up the ball if it has been intentionally passed back to them by a team-mate.
- Foul – an offence that typically results in a free-kick or penalty, such as a reckless or excessive tackle (whether the ball is won or not) tripping or pushing an opponent, or handball.
- Free-Kick – awarded to the opposing team when a player commits an offence while the ball is in play. Free-kicks may be direct, meaning the player taking the kick may use it to shoot directly at goal, or indirect, meaning they must use the kick to pass the ball to a team-mate.
- Penalty – awarded to the opposing team when a player commits an offence in the penalty area, this is used as a direct shot on goal from the penalty spot (12 yards from the goal line); only the taker and the opposition goalkeeper may be in the penalty area when the kick is taken.
- Advantage – when a referee allows play to continue after an offence is committed rather than award a free-kick, because the non-offending team will benefit.
- Goal-Kick – when the ball crosses the touchline at the end of the pitch and was last touched by the opposing team, the defending team restarts play by kicking out from their goal.
- Corner – when the ball crosses the touchline at the end of the pitch and was last touched by the defending team, the opposing team restart play with a kick from nearest corner of the pitch. This is usually used for a direct cross into the box, but the taker may also play the ball short to a team-mate.
- Throw-In – when the ball crosses either of the touchlines along the sidelines of the pitch, a player from whichever team did not touch it last must restart play with a 2-handed overarm throw from where the ball went out of play.
- Yellow Card – also known as a caution, this is a sanction from the referee given to players who have committed a worthy offence (or multiple smaller offences). If a player is shown 2 yellow cards, they will then be shown a red card and sent off.
- Red Card – a sanction from a referee given to players who receive 2 yellow cards or commit a significant offence such as serious foul play or violent conduct. A player who receives a red card is dismissed from the game (known as being “sent off”) and may not be replaced with a substitute. A team forfeits the match if they have more than 4 players sent off, but it is exceptionally rare for more than 2 players to be sent off for 1 team.
- Substitution – when teams swap a player on the pitch with 1 on their bench, either as part of a tactical shift, to give a player a rest, or because the outgoing player has suffered an injury. Champions League teams can make up to 5 substitutions each per match, during a maximum of 3 stoppages in play (subs made during official breaks such as half-time do not count toward these stoppages). If a knockout game goes to extra time, clubs are permitted 1 extra substitution during an additional stoppage.
- Additional Time – also known as added time, injury time, or stoppage time, this is the time added on to the end of each half at the referee’s discretion to compensate for any breaks in play, as the clock does not stop during the game except for half-time.
- Extra Time – a period of 30 additional minutes played at the end of 2nd-leg knockout ties or the final if the score is level, split into 2 equal halves of 15 minutes.
- VAR – the video assistant referee reviews replays of incidents during the game and advises the referee on the pitch or invites them to review an incident for themselves.
Champions League Season Format
Formerly, the competition was comprised of 32 teams split into a traditional group stage, with 8 groups of 4 and 16 teams advancing to the knockout phase. Following a major format change in 2024, the competition is now contested by 36 teams each year. Of those, 25 book their place through their domestic league position from the previous season, there is 1 place each for the reigning Champions League and UEFA Europa League winners (given to other teams if those clubs also qualify via their league position), and 1 place each for the 2 associations with the highest UEFA coefficient points the previous season, while the remaining 7 enter after winning their preliminary qualifying rounds.
League Phase
The clubs are placed into a single 36-team league table in which 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw, and none for a defeat. The teams – seeded into 4 pots – are then randomly drawn against 8 opponents, playing 1 match against each. In total, each team will play 2 opponents from each pot (teams cannot face opponents from their own association or more than 2 opponents from a different association); 4 home matches, and 4 away matches.
Knockout Phase
The teams that finish in the top 8 of the league phase advance directly to the round of 16. Those that finish 9th to 24th will contest the knockout round playoffs, with teams who finish 9th to 16th being seeded for that draw. The round of 16, sees the top 8 from the league phase take on the 8 playoff winners, with the top 8 being seeded for that draw. From the quarterfinals onward, the draw is completely random.
Knockout ties are played over 2 legs, 1 at each team’s home venue. If the 2 teams are level at the end of 2nd leg, 30 minutes of extra-time will be played. If teams still can't be separated after extra-time, a penalty shoot-out will determine the winner.
The knockout phase culminates in a single final match, usually played in late May or early June at a pre-selected venue.
You can find a full breakdown of the calendar and the teams involved in our UEFA Champions League Schedule Guide.
Famous Champions League Players
Having started life as the European Cup in 1955, the Champions League has been graced by many of the best players to ever set foot on a football pitch. Here are some of the competition’s most legendary players past and present:
- Cristiano Ronaldo – the Champions League’s all-time record goalscorer with 140 goals, he has won the competition 5 times with Manchester United and Real Madrid.
- Lionel Messi – second only to Ronaldo in the scoring charts with 129 strikes, Messi fired Barcelona to 4 titles in this competition.
- Alfredo Di Stefano – played a key role in helping Real Madrid win each of the first 5 consecutive European Cups between 1956 and 1960, he scored in all 5 finals including a hattrick in the last of those.
- Raul – the first player to 50 goals and 100 appearances in this competition, the striker won it 3 times with Real Madrid and reigned as its record scorer with 71 goals before being overtaken by Ronaldo.
- Paolo Maldini – the AC Milan legend who holds the joint record of 8 European Cup/Champions League final appearances, winning 5 of them with the Rossoneri.
Champions League Terms Glossary
- Club Coefficient – the UEFA club coefficient is a points-based ranking system based on each team’s performance in European competitions over the previous 5 seasons.
- Seeded – during the league phase, the teams are separated into 4 pots based on their UEFA club coefficient and face 2 teams from each pot to ensure a variety of opponents. During the knockout round playoffs, the teams who finish 9th to 16th in the league phase are seeded and cannot face one another, and during the round of 16 the top 8 from the league phase are seeded and cannot face one another.
- League Phase – formerly the group stage, the league phase sees all 36 teams placed into a single league table, although they will only face 8 opponents within it. The top 8 advance directly to the last 16, while 9th through 24th advance to the knockout round playoffs.
- Knockout Phase – beginning with the knockout round playoffs and ending in the final, this is the business end of the competition as the 24 remaining teams are whittled down to the last 2. Each round except for the final is played over 2 legs, home and away.
- Aggregate – the combined score over both legs of a knockout tie; if the teams play out 0-1 and 2-0 scorelines, the aggregate score will be 2-1.
- Away Goals – a rule that was in place for many years whereby goals scored away from home in knockout ties were deemed more valuable when calculating the aggregate score; for example, if the teams play out a 0-0 and then a 2-2, the away team in the 2-2 draw would advance as theirs were away goals. This rule was discontinued in 2021-22.
- Own Goal – when a defending team mistakenly scores in their own net.
- Set-Piece – a dead ball routine such as corner or free-kick.
- Assist – a pass that leads to a goal being scored.
- Penalty Area – also known as the 18-yard box, this is the area around each goal in which the defending goalkeeper may handle the ball and in which a penalty is awarded if a foul is committed.
- 6-Yard Box – officially known as the “goal area,” this is the smaller box within the penalty area that teams take goal kicks from.
- Possession – the team that currently has the ball is said to be possession; at the end of the game the amount of time each team spent in possession is calculated among other statistics.
- Wall – when defending a direct free-kick, a row of players may line up 10 yards away from the ball to block shots on goal.
- Goal Difference – goals scored minus goals conceded, used as a tiebreaker after points won.
- Diving – also known as simulation, this is the act of attempting to deceive a referee by exaggerating contact or pretending to be fouled with the aim of winning a penalty or free-kick.
- xG – stands for “expected goals,” a statistical metric that measures the quality of a goalscoring chance based on several factors, including the angle and distance of the shot, which determines how likely it is for a player to score in that situation.
Attending a Champions League Match
If you’d like to attend a Champions League match in person – a fabled European night under the lights – then here’s a selection of useful links: