The stage is set for the final hurdle before the group stages, as the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League play-off round draw took place on Monday, August 5, at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.
The draw, held at 12:00 CET, determined the matchups that will be played on August 20/21 and 27/28, where teams will vie for a coveted spot in the prestigious tournament’s main event.
PUNCH Online retrieved this from a release obtained from the UCL website on Monday night.
It was titled, “UEFA Champions League play-off round draw.”
Here is the full list of the draws:
Young Boys Bern (SUI) vs. Galatasaray (TUR)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) vs. Qarabag (AZE) or Ludogorets (BUL)
Midtjylland (DEN) or Ferencvaros (HUN) vs. Slovan Bratislava (SVK) or APOEL Nicosia (CYP)
Jagiellonia Bialystok (POL) or Bodo/Glimt (NOR) vs. Crvena Zvezda (SRB)
Malmo (SWE) or PAOK (GRE) vs. Sparta Prague (CZE) or Steaua Bucharest (ROU)
Lille (FRA) or Fenerbahce (TUR) vs Slavia Prague (CZE) or Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) or Rangers (SCO) vs. RB Salzburg (AUT) or Twente (NED)
PUNCH Online reports that the UEFA Champions League play-off round draw follows specific procedures to ensure fairness. Teams play home and away matches in a knockout system.
An equal number of seeded and unseeded clubs are paired based on club coefficient rankings. Restrictions prevent certain teams from being drawn against each other.
In the Champions Path, 10 teams were split into five seeded and five unseeded categories. In the league path, four teams were divided into two seeded and two unseeded groups.
The draw determines matchups and home teams for the first legs, with the schedule and kick-off times managed by UEFA.