Eight Clubs Have Already Qualified for Champions League Next Season
They will be aiming to qualify for the league phase.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Champions League, Football
Nasir Jabbar
Topics: Champions League, Football
Eight clubs have already entered next season's Champions League campaign.
Matchday four of this season's Champions League campaign gets underway tonight, with several big games on deck, including Liverpool vs. Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich and Juventus vs. Sporting CP.
The likes of Manchester City, Barcelona and Galatasaray are all in action on Wednesday as they face Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge and Ajax respectively.
The aforementioned clubs will be aiming to reach this season's final, which takes place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
Advert
The location of next season's Champions League final has already been announced as Atletico Madrid's Metropolitano Stadium will host the showpiece fixture of the 2026/27 term, having staged the 2018/19 final between Liverpool and Tottenham.
And eight clubs have already entered the 2026/27 Champions League - but have not qualified for the league phase.
Iceland's Vikingur Reykjavik, Finland's Kuopion Palloseura and Lithuania's Kauno Zalgiris have already claimed a spot in the first qualifying round.
Not to mention Shamrock Rovers, who qualified for the Conference League this season, Faroe Island's Klaksvikar Itrottarfelag, Latvia's Riga and Kazahstan's Kairat, who qualified for the Champions League proper this season and entertained Real in their last European outing, losing 5-0.
Sweden's Mjallby AIF have booked their place in the second qualifying round.
Three of the eight teams are Scandinavian clubs as they don't play over the winter due to the harsh climate conditions.
Pitches are often frozen, waterlogged or covered in snow during winter months, making them unplayable.
Their seasons are scheduled as summer leagues, typically running from spring (March/April) to autumn (October/November).
As mentioned, the eight clubs have yet to qualify for the Champions League proper but are in the competition as they look to qualify for the league phase.
Vikingur Reykjavik (Iceland)
Kuopion Palloseura (Finland)
Kauno Zalgiris (Lithuania)
Klaksvikar Itrottarfelag (Faroe Island)
Riga (Latvia)
Kairat (Kazakstan)
Shamrock Rovers (Republic of Ireland)
Mjallby AIF (Sweden)