FOOTBALL

Champions League draw: All you need to know

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The 2022/23 edition of the Champions League is now around the corner. 32 teams from around Europe will battle it out to claim the title of being the continent’s best.

The draw is set to take place on Thursday, 25th August, at 2130 IST. The venue will be the Turkish capital of Istanbul. 

The Champions League has been an integral part of football since it was first established in 1955 as the European Cup. It was earlier a pure knockout competition with four rounds. Since 1992, it has been rebranded as the Champions League. It has a round-robin group stage at first, before four two-legged knockouts. 

Spanish giants Real Madrid are the record holders of the competition with 14 titles. Italian heavyweights AC Milan are next, with 7 trophies to their name. Liverpool and FC Bayern are next with six titles each.

For the draw, the participating teams are divided into four groups or “pots’. To be a part of the different pots, a team needs to meet certain criteria. For example, the Pot 1 teams are those who are a part of the countries with high UEFA coefficient points and won their domestic leagues. Additionally, the winners of the previous season of the Champions League and Europa League are in this pot as well.

Eight groups of four teams are made, with one team from each pot. However, two teams from the same group cannot be in the same group.

Pots For This Season’s Champions League

Pot 1

  • Real Madrid (Champions League winners)
  • Eintracht Frankfurt (Europa League winners)
  • Manchester City (England)
  • AC Milan (Italy)
  • Bayern München (Germany)
  • Paris Saint-Germain (France)
  • Porto (Portugal)
  • Ajax (Netherlands)

Pot 2

  • Liverpool (England)
  • Chelsea (Engand)
  • Barcelona (Spain)
  • Juventus (Italy)
  • Atletico Madrid (Spain)
  • Sevilla (Spain)
  • RB Leipzig (Germany)
  • Tottenham (England)

Pot 3

  • Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
  • Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)
  • Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
  • Inter (Italy)
  • Napoli (Italy)
  • Sporting CP (Portugal)
  • Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)

Pot 4

  • Club Brugge (Belgium)
  • Celtic (Scotland)
  • 2 winners from the play-off round (Champions Path)

Additionally, Marseille and 2 winners from the play-off round (League Path) and 2 winners from the play-off round (Champions Path) will be placed in Pot 3 or 4.

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