Article 13 Competition stages and seeding - Champions League

13.01

All matches in the competition are played in conformity with the IFAB Laws of the Game. The half-time interval lasts 15 minutes.

13.02

The competition stages are as follows (see Annex B):

1. Qualifying phase, divided into:

   • champions path, composed of:

     - preliminary round;

     - first qualifying round;

     - second qualifying round;

     - third qualifying round;

   • league path, composed of:

     - second qualifying round;

     - third qualifying round;

2. Play-offs (champions path and league path)

3. UEFA Champions League, composed of:

   • group stage (six matchdays);

   • knockout stage;

     - round of 16;

     - quarter-finals;

     - semi-finals;

     - final.

13.03

Clubs are seeded for the qualifying phase, the play-offs and the group stage, in accordance with the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season (see Annex D) and with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. If, for any reason, any of the participants in such rounds are not known at the time of the draw, the coefficient of the club with the higher coefficient of the two clubs involved in an undecided tie is used for the purposes of the draw.

13.04

For the qualifying phase and play-offs, a draw between the same number of seeded and unseeded clubs determines the pairings, in accordance with the club coefficient rankings (see Annex D) and with Paragraph 13.03. The UEFA administration may form groups for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

13.05

The ties are determined by means of a draw. The club drawn first plays the first leg of the tie at home, subject to the provisions of Paragraph 13.02 and Article 14 to Article 24.

13.06

For the purpose of the draw, the 32 clubs involved in the group stage are seeded into four groups of eight. The first group comprises the titleholder (top seed), the UEFA Europa League titleholder and the domestic champions of the six associations ranked highest in the access list (see Annex A). If either or both titleholders are the domestic champions of one of the top six associations, the group is completed with the champion(s) of the next highest ranked association(s). The other three groups are composed in accordance with the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season (see Annex D).

13.07

For the round of 16, the group winners are seeded above the runners-up.

13.08

The UEFA administration may decide that a tie be played in one leg, if circumstances so require, and will set the principles for determining the winner accordingly.