The landscape of European club soccer is shifting this season, as UEFA’s revamped Champions League introduces an expanded 36-team league phase – and the full list of participating clubs from across the continent is now finalized.
English Premier League clubs have secured the largest representation in the expanded competition, with five teams earning their spots: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United. That five-club haul matches Spain’s La Liga, which will also send five contenders to the league phase: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Betis, 14-time Champions League winners Real Madrid, and Villarreal.
Germany’s Bundesliga follows close behind, with four clubs qualifying for the expanded format: perennial contenders Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, alongside Leipzig and newly-qualified Stuttgart. Italy’s Serie A also places four teams in the draw: Inter Milan, Napoli, Roma, and surprise qualifier Como, who earned their first-ever spot in the top tier of European competition.
Two more top European leagues, France’s Ligue 1 and Portugal’s Primeira Liga, each contribute three and two teams respectively. Ligue 1 is represented by Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Lille, while Porto and Sporting Lisbon will carry Portugal’s hopes in the tournament. The Netherlands sees both of its top clubs qualify: PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord, while Turkey has two of its biggest clubs in the field – Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.
For the first time in the competition’s history, Norway will have two clubs competing in the league phase: Bodø/Glimt and Viking, marking a historic breakthrough for Nordic soccer. The remaining spots are spread across smaller European soccer associations: Club Brugge from Belgium, Slavia Prague from the Czech Republic, war-torn Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, Austria’s LASK, Azerbaijan’s Sabah, Greece’s AEK Athens, and Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava.
The expanded 36-team league phase marks the biggest overhaul of the Champions League in decades, replacing the previous 32-team group stage format with a new round-robin structure that guarantees each team more high-profile matches against elite European opposition. This historic change opens up opportunities for clubs from smaller federations to compete against the sport’s biggest names, bringing more diversity and drama to the world’s most prestigious club soccer competition.
Full coverage of the 2024-25 Champions League season, including draw details, match previews and result updates, is available through Associated Press’s global sports reporting team.