The 2023–24 UEFA Champions League will soon come into focus after a summer packed with thrilling football excitement.
The group stage draw will take place on August 31, 2023, and the biggest clubs from the main European leagues will begin their quest for the top continental trophy after that.
European powerhouses Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Barcelona will all be anticipating the draw and eager to see who they will face in the group stages. After securing their spots last season, newcomers Newcastle United, Lens, and Union Berlin will also be looking forward to their European experiences.
At the Champions League draw event, a total of 32 teams from four pots of eight teams each will be drawn into a total of eight groups of four teams each.
For the group stage draw, GOAL has all the information you need to know about Champions League seeding.
When will the groups for the 2023–24 Champions League be drawn?
the 31st of August 2023
Time: 12 noon ET/5 pm BST
Place: Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum
On August 31, 2023, the day after the preliminary round of Champions League qualifying is due to end, the Champions League 2022–23 group stage draw will take place.
It is set to start at around 5:00 p.m. BST (12:00 p.m. ET).
Which teams will compete in the Champions League group stage in 2023–24?
As mentioned above, a total of 32 football teams will compete in the group stage of the 2023–24 Champions League. There is direct admission into the draw for 26 clubs. After the qualifications, six more clubs will join them.
Four pots are created by dividing qualified teams into: The top six national league champions, Europa League champions, and championship holders are all included in Pot 1 according to UEFA country coefficients. The teams’ UEFA club coefficients are used to fill the remaining three pots.
Prior to the draw, the final participants in Pots 3 and 4 will be determined based on the play-off results. The 32 teams are seeded into four pots, and eight groups are then assembled at random from the eight pots. The draw cannot place two teams from the same football association in the same group.
Champions League group stage seeding pots for 2023–24
Prior to the 2023–24 season, the majority of the qualified teams will learn which pot they have been assigned to for the group stage draw of the Champions League.
Manchester City, the champions after their 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the championship game, along with Europa League champion Sevilla, have been placed in Pot 1. The other teams in the top pot are the winners of the top six leagues in Europe as determined by the UEFA coefficient, although Dutch champions Feyenoord, who represent the seventh-placed association, are also elevated to Pot 1 as a result of Manchester City’s Premier League victory.
With five teams that have previously won the Champions League, the second pot is very intriguing. Real Madrid, a 14-time champion, and Manchester United and Inter, each three-time champions, are represented. Teams from the remaining pots are determined by their coefficient scores from UEFA. Pot 3 includes two Italian powerhouses in AC Milan and Lazio, while PSV, Braga, and FC Copenhagen have already qualified for the draw by winning their respective playoff matches.
Newcastle United, who achieved a Cinderella comeback to Europe’s top club competition following an excellent 2022–23 season under Eddie Howe, is one of many surprise package clubs in Pot 4. Real Sociedad, Union Berlin, and Lens have all thrown their hats into the ring with the Magpies. Due to their lack of Champions League experience, the defending Scottish champions Celtic were also placed in the final pot, although Young Boys, Galatasaray, and Antwerp had already secured their spots after winning playoff matches.
Where can I find a live stream of the Champions League group stage draw?
The group stage draw for the 2023–24 Champions League will be webcast live on the UEFA website.
The group stage draw for the 2023–24 Champions League is going to be quite intriguing. The group round will be a fantastic opportunity for the top teams that are seeking spots in the competition to demonstrate their abilities and compete for the trophy.
On September 19, the Champions League group stage begins. The final will take place the following year on June 1 at Wembley Stadium in London.