What happens if the UEFA Champions League winners have also qualified for the league phase via their domestic league position?

The 2024/25 Champions League winners will automatically qualify for next season's league phase, as happened last year, but what happens if they have also earned a place via their domestic league position?

Last updated: 09:00 CET on Wednesday 19 March

One of the main principles of the new European club competition format post-2024 is the important role of the club coefficient – namely, the club’s performance in European club competitions over the current five-year period.

It is for this reason that should the UEFA Champions League winners have also qualified for the league phase via their domestic league position, the club with the best individual coefficient of all the domestic champions involved in qualifying (the domestic champions of associations 11 to 55*) will enter the league phase directly instead of the original round they had qualified for according to the access list.

Shakhtar Donetsk were the first team which – with the best individual coefficient of all the domestic champions – entered the league phase for 2024/25.

Note that the domestic title winners from associations one to ten will have already automatically qualified for the league phase.

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What does this mean in practice? 

The top ten coefficients for the current league leaders from associations 11-55 are as follows:

Olympiacos (GRE) – 56.500 (1st in domestic league)
Bodø/Glimt** (NOR) – 46.000 (champions)
Crvena Zvezda (SRB) – 44.000
Celtic (SCO) – 38.000
Slovan Bratislava (SVK) – 33.500
Midtjylland (DEN) – 32.750
Qarabağ (AZE) – 32.000
Ludogorets (BUL) – 24.000
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) – 23.500
Sturm Graz (AUT) – 23.000

The top ten coefficients for all clubs from associations 11-55 are as follows:

Rangers** (SCO) – 70.250 (2nd in domestic league)
Olympiacos (GRE) – 56.500 (1st)
GNK Dinamo (CRO) – 56.000 (3rd)
Shakhtar (UKR) – 52.000 (3rd)
Salzburg (AUT) – 48.000 (3rd)
Bodø/Glimt** (NOR) – 46.000 (champions)
Copenhagen (DEN) – 44.875 (2nd)
Crvena Zvezda (SRB) – 44.000 (1st)
PAOK (GRE) – 42.250 (4th)
Ferencváros (HUN) – 39.000 (2nd)

**Denotes clubs still participating in European club competitions

Olympiacos would qualify as it stands

As current leaders of the Greek Super League, Olympiacos would, as it stands, take the UEFA Champions League winners' league phase berth should such rebalancing be required. This is because they have the highest coefficient of all the clubs currently top of their domestic leagues from associations 11-55. The access list would subsequently be rebalanced accordingly.

It is important to underline that this ongoing process will take place simultaneously within the domestic competitions that will determine the national champion of each country as well as the knockout rounds in the European competitions, since some of the eligible clubs are participating in the European club competitions and therefore still have the potential to enhance their overall coefficient.

*Note that as Liechtenstein does not have its own domestic league, its clubs play in the Swiss football league system.