The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious club competition in European football. It is a two-legged knockout tournament that pits teams against each other in home-and-away games and, if the teams score enough goals over the course of the two legs, they progress to the next round.
The competition was established in 1992-93, though the UEFA Champions League trophy itself was first awarded in 1955. Today, the trophy is one of the most coveted in sport and the first club to win it twice in a row can keep it permanently.
Champions League continues to follow a format similar to the FIFA World Cup, with a qualification phase followed by a knockout round of sixteen. The top eight clubs from each group qualify for the final stage, and a system of seedings is in place to help determine who will face whom.
Before 2024-25, the knockout phase was reorganized and now includes two rounds of play. The top eight finishers are seeded, and the remainder compete in a two-legged play-off round to join them. Clubs finishing between ninth and 24th qualify for the last 16 only if they win their play-off match against the seeded team.
The play-off round is now held in the first week of February, and the second draw creates the fixtures for the quarterfinals and semifinals. In the quarterfinals, teams ranked 1-4 are guaranteed to play the second leg at home. In the semifinals, if a team is ranked 1-2 it will also be sure to play its second leg at home.