With the Champions League 2021/22 season ending with Real Madrid crowned champions, the journey for next season’s edition of the competition has commenced. After the end of last season, 26 teams have officially qualified for the Champions League and the six spots left would be decided through the qualifying rounds....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The qualifying rounds would take place throughout the summer but before that, some teams already have a picture of their prospective opponents in the Champions League group stage.
There are four pots for the Champions League group stage draw. Teams in the four pots are then allocated into eight groups of four teams in the draw which would be held on August 25.
The 1st pot consists of the winners of the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga, the French Ligue 1, and the Primeira Liga. Those teams are also joined by the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League.
Real Madrid won the Spanish La Liga and the Champions League, meaning that there would be a spare spot in pot 1. This spot will be occupied by the winner of the seventh ranked league in Europe, which is the Dutch Eredivisie. Ajax, therefore, would be taking the extra spot left in pot 1 as they won the Eredivisie last season.
Pots 2, 3 and 4 are determined by UEFA club coefficient. The UEFA club coefficient is determined by how well each side has done in Europe over the past five seasons.
Below are the teams occupying each of the pots ahead of the group stage draw on August 25:
