2008–09 UEFA Champions League
Template:Future sport The UEFA Champions League 2008-09 will be the 54th edition of the European Club Championship football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The Final will be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Roma[1] on 27 May 2009.
The Stadium for the Final
The final itself will be the 7th time the UEFA Champions League Final has been held in Italy and the 4th time it is to be held at the Stadio Olimpico. The previous 3 finals held there were:
1977 - Liverpool 3 vs 1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
1984 - Liverpool 1 vs 1 AS Roma (Liverpool won 4-2 on pens)
1996 - Juventus FC 1 vs 1 AFC Ajax (Juventus won 4-2 on pens)
Association Team Allocation
A total of 76 teams will participate in the 2008-2009 Champions League, from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organizes no domestic league competition). Countries are allocated places according to their UEFA league co-efficient.
The Champions League title holder 2007-08 will be guaranteed a place in the group stage, even if they do not obtain a qualifying place through their domestic league. They will do this at the expense of their association's lowest placed qualifier, who will join the UEFA Cup as a result. However, if the winner comes from an association with only one allocated place, then they will qualify through an addition slot.
The allocation system may change slightly depending on the title holder's domestic placing.[2]
Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008-2009 Champions League:
- Associations 1-3 (Spain, England, and Italy) each have 4 teams qualify
- Associations 4-6 (France, Germany, and Portugal) each have 3 teams qualify
- Associations 7-15 (Romania, Netherlands, Russia, Scotland, Ukraine, Belgium, Czech Republic, Turkey, and Greece) each have 2 teams qualify
- Associations 16-53 each have 1 team qualify
First Qualifying Round: (28 teams)
- 28 champions from associations 25-53
Second Qualifying Round: (28 teams)
- 14 winners from the First Qualifying Round
- 8 champions from associations 17-24 (Switzerland, Norway, Israel, Serbia, Denmark, Austria, Poland and Hungary)
- 6 runners-up from associations 10-15
Third Qualifying Round: (32 teams)
- 14 winners from the Second Qualifying Round
- 6 champions from associations 11-16
- 3 runners-up from associations 7-9
- 5 third-place finishers from associations 1-6 (all except England)
- 3 fourth-place finishers from associations 1-3
- either third-placed finisher from England or champion from Scotland
Group Stage: (32 teams)
- 16 winners from the Third Qualifying Round
- 9 champions from associations 1-9 (in case all except the title holder)
- 6 runners-up from associations 1-6
- either third-placed finisher from England (in case current Champions League holder) or champion from Scotland
The access list may change slightly depending on who wins this season's Champions League. If title holder (Manchester United or Chelsea) finishes at least as runner-up in English Premier League 2007-08, then champion from Scotland will gain direct access to Group Stage as well. Otherwise, they will start season from third qualifying round.
Round and draw dates
The calendar shows the dates of the rounds and draw.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 27 June 2008 | Draw for first and second qualifying rounds |
| 15-16 july 2008 | First qualifying round, first leg |
| 22-23 july 2008 | First qualifying round, second leg |
| 29-30 july 2008 | Second qualifying round, first leg |
| 1 august 2008 | Draw for third qualifying round |
| 5-6 august 2008 | Second qualifying round, second leg |
| 12-13 august 2008 | Third qualifying round, first leg |
| 26-27 august 2008 | Third qualifying round, second leg |
| 28 august 2008 | Draw for group stage |
| 16-17 september 2008 | Group stage, Matchday 1 |
| 30 september-1 october 2008 | Group stage, Matchday 2 |
| 21-22 october 2008 | Group stage, Matchday 3 |
| 4-5 november 2008 | Group stage, Matchday 4 |
| 25-26 november 2008 | Group stage, Matchday 5 |
| 9-10 december 2008 | Group stage, Matchday 6 |
| 19 december 2008 | Draw for First knockout round |
| 18-19 february 2009 | First knockout round, 1st leg |
| 10-11 march 2009 | First knockout round, 2nd leg |
| 20 march 2009 | Draw for remaining rounds |
| 7-8 april 2009 | Quarter-finals, 1st leg |
| 14-15 april 2009 | Quarter-finals, 2nd leg |
| 28-29 april 2009 | Semi-finals, 1st leg |
| 5-6 may 2009 | Semi-finals, 2nd leg |
| 27 may 2009 | Final in Rome, Italy |
Qualifying rounds
First qualifying round
The following teams are certain to compete in the first qualifying round of the Champions League:
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Seeded Teams
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Unseeded Teams
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Second qualifying round
The following teams are certain to compete in the second qualifying round of the Champions League:
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Third qualifying round
The following teams are supposed to compete in the third qualifying round of the Champions League:
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Group Stage
The following teams are supposed to compete in the group stage of the Champions League:
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See also
Notes and References
- ^ "Moscow and Rome feast on finals". UEFA. 2006-10-05. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Regulations
- ^ a b Rangers and Celtic have qualified for UEFA Champions League.
- ^ a b Sparta Prague has qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
- ^ a b c Villarreal has qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
- ^ a b Chelsea and Arsenal have qualified for UEFA Champions League.
- ^ a b Defending Champions slot will only be used if Chelsea finish third in the English Premiership. Otherwise the champion of Scotland will shift up to the Group Stage.
- ^ a b c Roma and Juventus have qualified for Champions League.
- ^ a b Steaua Bucharest and CFR Cluj have qualified for UEFA Champions League.
| Global |  | |
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| Africa | ||
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See also: International women's club football | ||