Historic Champions League season: First time in 20 years without Ukraine
Champions League trophy (photo: Getty Images)
The 2025/26 Champions League kicks off on September 16 without Ukrainian clubs for the first time in 20 years. However, fans will still see Ukrainian national team players competing in Europe's top club tournament, representing leading European teams.
2025/26 Champions League starts without Ukrainian clubs
The main round of the 2025/26 Champions League season begins on Tuesday. For the second consecutive year, Europe's top club tournament is being held under a new system, without a group stage.
Teams form a single table, and each participant plays eight matches against different opponents.
This season will be historic for Ukrainian football, as for the first time in 20 years, there is no Ukrainian representative in the main draw.
Kyiv's Dynamo had the last chance to qualify but lost to Cyprus' Pafos in the third qualifying round under coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi.
Ukrainians in top clubs
Despite the absence of Ukrainian teams, several of our footballers will play in the Champions League:
- Anatolii Trubin and Heorhii Sudakov (both at Benfica) will face Qarabag in Lisbon on September 16.
- Andrii Lunin (Real Madrid) will guard the goal against Marseille on the same day.
- Illia Zabarnyi (PSG) will make his European competition debut for the Paris club on Wednesday, September 17, against Atalanta.
- Roman Yaremchuk will represent Greek club Olympiacos, which plays Pafos.
- Oleksii Kashchuk will play in the Champions League main round for Qarabag for only the second time in the club's history.
There was supposed to be a sixth Ukrainian (Oleksandr Zinchenko), but before the season started, he moved from Arsenal to Nottingham Forest, which will compete only in the Europa League.
Mykhailo Mudryk will also not help his team, as the Chelsea winger has been suspended due to a doping case.
Opening round schedule (Kyiv time)
Tuesday, September 16
- 7:45 PM Athletic – Arsenal
- 7:45 PSV – Union Saint-Gilloise
- 10:00 Benfica – Qarabag
- 10:00 Real – Marseille
- 10:00 Tottenham – Villarreal
- 10:00 Juventus – Borussia Dortmund
Wednesday, September 17
- 7:45 PM Olympiacos – Pafos
- 7:45 Slavia – Bodo/Glimt
- 10:00 Ajax – Inter
- 10:00 Bayern – Chelsea
- 10:00 Liverpool – Atletico
- 10:00 PSG – Atalanta
Thursday, September 18
- 7:45 PM Club Brugge – Monaco
- 7:45 Copenhagen – Bayer
- 10:00 Eintracht – Galatasaray
- 10:00 Manchester City – Napoli
- 10:00 Newcastle – Barcelona
- 10:00 Sporting – Kairat
New Champions League format
The main stage consists of eight rounds, running from September to January. Each team plays four home and four away games against different opponents.
- The top 8 clubs advance directly to the round of 16.
- Teams ranked 9th to 24th play in playoff matches for spots in the knockout stage.
- The remaining participants are eliminated from the European competition, as there is no longer a transition to the Europa League.
The final is scheduled for May 30, 2026, at the Puskás Arena in Budapest.
Season favorites
Bookmakers consider Liverpool, PSG, Barcelona, and Real Madrid as the main contenders for the trophy. PSG will try to defend their title. Last season, they sensationally crushed Inter 5:0 in the final to win their first Champions League trophy.
For Ukrainian fans, the intrigue also lies in whether a Ukrainian player will become the holder of Europe's most prestigious club trophy.
