UEFA Champions League Explained

A look at what the UEFA Champions League is, how teams qualify for it, and the format of the prestigious competition!
(Some logos and pictures used are property of UEFA)

[@lightning__mcqueen]

I don’t know why I watched this I know literally everything about the champions league

[@eddysanchez6093]

the love of Futbol is strong bro. enjoy it :)

[@pastorfred2048]

And I’m here forcing my self to love football after 20 years 😂

[@Monkeydluffy-we2fk]

Lol y r u here with noobs like us

[@trixzonia2050]

Aight answer this. Forst theres qualifications. Then theres play off qualification. Whats the play offs

[@lightning__mcqueen]

@@trixzonia2050 the final qualifying round

[@riyanshojha6446]

Thanks for the explanation, as a non football fan it was very confusing to distinguish between various leagues. But now , it is all crystal clear . Keep up the good work.

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching, I'm glad it helped you!

[@anuragtumane5227]

UEFA Champions League is the world's biggest club football competition, and this is how this league functions.

[@akiprox7]

First off it isn't a league and second off it isn't the world's biggest football competition because there is both the World Cup and the Club World Cup

[@juniordesrosiers2463]

@@akiprox7lol reading is fundamental buddy read his comment again

[@zekigoktug9625]

Between 1992 and 2009, the UEFA Champions League was a tournament with fair participation, the change in the qualifying system in the 2009-10 season caused football to end slowly in Europe.

[@josiahnan2401]

This was a really great video Sir! I'm trying to get back into football and this really helped me understand the competition.

[@snowmansportsmedia]

You got it, thanks for watching!

[@soumyakantijana9273]

@@snowmansportsmedia What if ucl champion team is also in the top 4 teams in premier league ???...Then can 5th placed team in pl play ucl???

[@moonizone1749]

@@soumyakantijana9273 unfortunately no, should be

[@That.guy194]

@@soumyakantijana9273 no they give it to another team from another country

[@donovantheodore7496]

Sorry to be so off topic but does someone know of a tool to log back into an instagram account?? I stupidly forgot my password. I love any tricks you can give me!

[@shashijairam2423]

Outstanding explanation. I've been googling trying to figure out how this all works...and I was more confused than before I started. lol. Thanks for making this so clear!

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Haha I get it, there's so many different leagues and competitions in Europe. Thanks for watching!

[@albinjohnsson2511]

There are actually A LOT of clubs from smaller leagues (outside of the top 10) that go through the "Champions path" (the qualifications). The league rankings will of course change throughout the years, but clubs such as these often have to go through the qualifying rounds: Shakthar, Malmö, Rangers, Basel, Zenit, Rosenborg, Viktoria Plzen, AEK, Olympiacos, FC Copenhagen, Celtic, Genk, Brugge, Young Boys, Besiktas, Galatasaray, Midtjylland, Ludogorets, etc.

[@adisingh9341]

The reason I loved all your videos of football is because you explained very well in just 8 mins avg. It's fabulous. Love it

[@snowmansportsmedia]

I really appreciate that, thanks for watching :)

[@alonsoramirez3852]

I watched a couple of other videos and they didn’t explain it nearly as clearly as you did. Thanks so much! Saving this one for later.

[@anemoium]

props for sneaking in the “Arsenal in 4th” joke 😂

[@snowmansportsmedia]

;)

[@osmanahmed8584]

Now they in 1st

[@HatterTobias]

@@osmanahmed8584 they bottled it m8

[@cactitiger]

Very informative. I’ve been trying to watch more European football instead of just my domestic league and this helped a lot in explaining the weird rules

[@bearfox6515]

Thanks man this was great video its really helpful

[@pasinduransilu4380]

This is very helpful. Thank you 🖤

[@Jason1904]

Thanks for the explanation!! Been a big World Cup fan but just started watching football/ soccer recently. Premier league is exciting football.

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching, I agree!

[@frederickdevries12]

Very good video man! When I looked at wikipedia I didn't get this entire play phase. But now, thanks to you I do!

[@janambhandari3431]

thanks for the video😍now i understand better❤️

[@nobody-ye5rk]

Thank you so much i have recently got into Football, this video helped me a lot

[@harlhequim]

This days to go to the point is a rarity, so congrats and thks

[@Prof856]

I am suprised you do not have more subscribers. That was an excellent explaination. Thank you!

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching!

[@johnrepka]

Thanks. I’ve been following for the last decade, but did not understand the co-efficient determination for the leagues outside of England, Spain, Germany, etc.

[@teehive4395]

This was so helpful! 🙏🏾

[@snowmansportsmedia]

:)

[@ashrafkn356]

Super bro 👏.. You are give a supreb vision ...thanks 😊

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching!

[@darger3]

Well done.

[@darkarcher-gaming806]

Really helpful thanks a bunch

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching!

[@adityanair1112]

Love u sir thanks for explanation

[@siimtokke3461]

In theory, the final takes place at neutral ground, but it can happen that it is played at either one of the finalist home country (Man U played Barc at Wembley in 2011, Dortmund played Juve at Olympiastadion in 1997, Juve played Ajax at Stadio Olimpico in 1996, and more) or even at their home stadium (Bayern played Chelsea at Alliance Arena in 2012).

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Good point

[@Josh-zu7th]

hey i have a question, in the quarters and semis how is the home game decided. like how do they decide who plays at their home in the first leg

[@siimtokke3461]

@@Josh-zu7th It's the order they are drawn. The first team gets to play at home first. This can be altered if there are conflicts in domestic cups. I think Chelsea had that against Real this year.

[@Qsel97]

tbf wembley isnt man uniteds ground but i get your point

[@rxg6948]

Thank your for taking the time to make this video, I'm from the USA and I am just now getting into soccer. I never thought I would like it but I am really getting into it. I enjoy following the US players that play in Europe. Can you please make a video of when the season starts and ends for each league? Thank You again, have.a great day.

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks a lot for watching, I'm glad you're getting into soccer! I have multiple videos going over the formats of different leagues like the Premier League, La Liga, MLS, etc. Maybe they can help, this is a link to my Premier League one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHKqaHZva56qmaM

[@yousefamr2779]

Football

[@user-ue1tg4fy2z]

Football

[@nightowl3x]

Well explained

[@thanosthemastermind5287]

Nice vid keep it up new sub And a question let's take like barca and liverpool match when Liverpool came back from 3-0 down to 4-0 up if barca would have scored and became 4-4 which team will advance or will they go to extra time

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching! And great question with last year's semifinal, if Barcelona would've scored in the 2nd leg to lose 4-1, Barca would've advanced to the final. That's because the tiebreaker is how many away goals a team scores, and since the first game was in Barca, Liverpool scored 0 away goals losing 3-0. All Barca needed was 1 away goal to win the tiebreaker, but obviously they lost 4-0 in Liverpool!

[@JinethLochana]

Thank You Bro

[@ThatEditArchive]

Such great explanation! Now I can enjoy the game and actually know what is going on lol.

[@saswatpradhan4976]

Awesome video buddy

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks a lot for watching!

[@Simon-tc1mc]

Thank you, this is so informative. So, all the champions league games happen during the regular season, just between league games? At what point in the knock out round is the regular season over? It seems like it would be weird to go from an intense playoff game one day to having to play a random league team the next day.

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching! But yeah that's exactly how it is. They play them throughout the regular year. Group games are from September-December, and then the knockout games start in February. For the best teams in the world their schedules get extremely crowded in March/April. The Champions League Final is the only match played after the regular season is over!

[@paulpraneeth444]

Nice man

[@captainfalconmain6576]

Thoughts on the Swiss model format I hate it man

[@JacksonS123]

Hello this was a great video but could you make a separate video just on the playoffs because I’m a little bit confused still about it

[@snowmansportsmedia]

I'll add it to my list, thanks for watching!

[@JacksonS123]

@@snowmansportsmedia thanks!

[@peregrine__]

Great vidddddddddddd

[@1AmSwapnil]

Thank you so much

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching!

[@hashim_iraq]

Thank you

[@mohdjisam4348]

ucl and uel champions are already assured their spot in europian competition next season.And if ucl or uel champions gets inside the top 4 and then is there any chance for the 5th spot team in the next season ?

[@_0_1_2]

as an epl fan I always got confused about qualification. Big thanks.

[@almino_min]

Very good

[@muhummadumerkhalid]

thnk u for explaining it . i was worried why aston villa didnot qualify but u solved the dought my g

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Haha no worries, thanks for watching mate

[@user-om8jk7vm3c]

I truly would appreciate it if you expain CAF league , thanks !!!!

[@snowmansportsmedia]

I'll put it on my to-do list! Thanks for watching!

[@user-om8jk7vm3c]

@@snowmansportsmedia thanks for replying bro👍

[@arsenalfan1707]

Thanks

[@jeffreymelton2200]

Thank you for the video! you cleared up alot of confusion that i have been having regarding the champions league. I just looked up the standings, and it appears that it is still in the group stage with only 6 game been played so far. woud that be an accurate statement?

[@snowmansportsmedia]

They're in the knockout stage now, only 4 teams remain!

[@jeffreymelton2200]

@@snowmansportsmedia Thank you. I can see that now. Damn Real has a shot this year again huh? I thought Bayern was going to be in the final too the way Lewandowski has been.

[@agamerplayeryt]

Hi, amazing video but I just have one question; What happens if a Europa league/ucl winner is also in a ucl qualification spot in their league? An example of this would be if Arsenal won both the Europa League and the premiere league. Thanks

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching! I believe in that case, it would be the next available Premier League team that would qualify for ucl. So likely the team in 5th place

[@hurtin0108]

You can only have 5 teams if the current CL or EL winner doesn't make it top 4 in the domestic league. Happened with Germany this year because Frankfurt won the EL but finished outside top 4

[@AbhishekSingh-td1jo]

Thank you sir for explaining this topic.... You explained it in layman's language 😂😂😂😂

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Haha that's my goal

[@Chau_cx]

Thanks bro

[@Chau_cx]

I can finally rest

[@tanaykaul2772]

Sir I had a doubt how do u decide which teams will play in Europa league and the reigning cl

[@christopheb9221]

I wonder if a round robin would be better with standard points 3,1, or 0 and have either fewer teams or play one match rather than 2

[@puranitasbir230]

Thank you 😊

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching!

[@captainoblivionthicc1004]

This might be late but i am really into Champions League now because my small club AZ from the Netherlands is participating this year

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Oh nice, good luck, I'll definitely keep an eye on them!

[@kenabstinencekenya]

@@snowmansportsmedia it will end in tears

[@lpmbufftelecom]

Should do a video about the others continental trophies (Europa League, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sul-Americana, Concachampions, AFC/CAF/OFC Champions Leagues)

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Will do, about to post a Europa League video later today!

[@lpmbufftelecom]

@@snowmansportsmedia great! Subscribed!

[@snowmansportsmedia]

@@lpmbufftelecom Thanks a lot!!

[@snowmansportsmedia]

@@lpmbufftelecom just posted it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/g17cY4KOq5iUqbs

[@lpmbufftelecom]

@@snowmansportsmedia cool! I will definitely check

[@johnkurian4529]

What is the name of the song playing in the background?

[@wesleyjames7264]

great video

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thanks for watching!

[@randomguyoninternet7618]

I didn't understand the part that the lesser team don't get a chance due to team from Germany and Italy but Italy and Germany team would have gone automatically as they are very high in coefficient chart

[@captainfalconmain6576]

Lets go champions league

[@niljambaro9049]

Wc gave me a new addiction😩

[@asanatakele5259]

I have been searching for this like 2 year,finally my soul rest

[@tescotrolley7245]

Thanks I didn’t really understand the first round but I do bow

[@himangshudeka5644]

Where do is find that chart it's really seems useful

[@caseywillow2785]

Wheres Messi in the intro?? The absolute disrespect, unbelievable I trusted you. PS - Just subscribed these are great videos keep up the good work. You sexy beast

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Hahaha Messi is an all time legend, no doubt. But he's not one of my favorites...

[@caseywillow2785]

@@snowmansportsmedia Everyones entitled to their opinions..... I mean the Nazis thought they were right too so..... lol 😂😂💙

[@snowmansportsmedia]

@@caseywillow2785 Bahaha funny guy right here

[@alphamichael4002]

Doe's the trophy remind at the club which win?

[@XYZ-rz8vh]

What is the point system for home goals and away goals?

[@mateoavendano7712]

You forgot to mention that the third place team in each group will go to the round of 32 in the Europa League along with the other teams that qualified from the group stage in the Europa League.

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Ah good point, although I did mention that in my Europa League video

[@techboy8330]

also tell about the away goals system when the teams cannot be seperated from aggregate , in the KO stage.

[@h3irloom_473]

No need! UEFA abolished this rule!

[@shael4867]

Help this dude reach 10k please

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Thank you so much!!

[@captainfalconmain6576]

i think you do update of the ucl because of its new format next season

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Good thinking, will do!

[@timeisntreal]

thanks! great vid, go CHELSEA!!!!

[@athinombeko6647]

He really guessed arsenal is in fourth place 😧

[@roscoeswrld5953]

Did you have to use that picture for arsenal😭😭good video though i watched your mls one. Your good at explaining

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Haha I appreciate you!

[@MusaddiqLakhana]

Back after everything has fallen apart and the UCL has been reformed... :(

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Dark days for sure, so much happening... at least I'll have more videos to make lol

[@MusaddiqLakhana]

@@snowmansportsmedia True haha. Looking forward to them!

[@MusaddiqLakhana]

@@elliewilliams9746 Me to the ESL kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqnLf3aPZ5ZgrtU

[@richmahogany1710]

i got what I came for and now know what the word annual means

[@johnwarren3789]

Also, what if the winner of the Europa League, and the reigning winner of the UCL are in qualifying positions of their domestic leagues? Does that open up and extra tier from their domestic leagues? Or does it filter down into some sort of extra qualifying game between fringe clubs? Example, if Manchester United win this years Europa League yet finish 2nd in the EPL, who gets that spot for second? 5th place? Im not entirely sure how it works myself

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Yeah I believe the 5th place team in Premier League would qualify under that circumstance, it just goes to the next most eligible team if certain teams qualify in more ways than one

[@ignacioclerici5341]

What do you mean? Don't the first 4 teams of the best 4 leagues (Spain England Italy Germany) qualify directly to the champions league? Independent if they were champions of las europa league or champions league

[@hunchokalitoh4408]

By saying playing twice do you mean playing home and away for each or what do you mean?

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Yep, home and away

[@DeadmanMikey]

I have a quick question. If two teams tie in the first leg and the other team wins the second leg will they go through even if they are losing in aggregate score. I think it would make sense to advance the team that won a game even if they are behind on aggregate

[@snowmansportsmedia]

I'm a little unsure of your question. If 2 teams draw in the first leg, say the score was 1-1, and the 2nd leg is won by a score of 1-0, then there's no possible way that the team that won the 2nd leg could be behind on aggregate... However, if Team A wins the 1st leg 3-0, and Team B wins the 2nd leg 2-0, Team B would still be eliminated even though they just won because the aggregate scoreline would be 3-2.

[@DeadmanMikey]

@@snowmansportsmedia yeah I realized this question was very dumb after I posted it but I couldn’t ever find the video again to delete it. Sorry bout that😂

[@za-jm8wf]

How do these teams play in their league and for this tournament at the same time?

[@benyoucefkarim1316]

the league schedule is set for that, every league is scheduled that there have time available for European football

[@hamzaannna1742]

I got confused with this year's champions league the quarter finals

[@prestonn2903]

Yeh like is there two legs for this year?

[@antoniobaias]

Preston N One

[@teer7461]

In this year, because of corona virus pandemic there were changes - they played quaterfinals and semifinals in the same format as final - in neutral place (Lisbon), and only one match.

[@sahranack2930]

Wait so how do the european teams qualify for the world cup? I know the north amrican teams qualify through the Concacaf tournament. Do the European teams qualify through UEFA? Is UEFA only for European clubs not countries?

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Technically UEFA is for both European clubs and European countries

[@benyoucefkarim1316]

yes, same in every continent, winner of the champions league qualifiers

[@thegoldenbeetlei6710]

Showed this to my cousin

[@n3rdify307]

Hey...you forgot the away goal rule😭 It's pretty great though. I don't think it can't get any simpler than this though 👌

[@OldNissyPlays]

UEFA scrapped the away goal rule

[@justsomepersonyoudontknow8401]

basically club european cup

[@NanobanaKinako]

Just a question, how come the World Cup is just a single elimination tournament and doesn't do first and second leg?

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Hmm my guess is time constraints. World Cup is 1 month. Champions League takes place over the entire season, so about 8 months

[@akielsteewart8577]

Excellent concise video! What if the the two teams are tied at the end of the second leg though (first leg: 2-1, second leg: 1-2) who goes through then

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Yep, 30 mins of extra time and then penalties

[@martinhansen5111]

Dude .. you're doing a great job but... the draw is not completely random and you're completely forgetting about the away goal ruel in the knockout stages and you forgot to mention what happens with the teams that finishes 3rd and 4th in the group-stage

[@soushi8]

is there a way to explain aggergate? I just found out Juve is gone and Lyon is moving on.

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Aggregate is just the scores of the 2 games combined. So if Team A wins the first game 3-1, but loses the second game 1-2, they would still move on. Where it gets complicated is that UEFA uses Away Goals as a tiebreaker. So say Team A is at home for the first leg and wins 3-2. If they lose the second game on the road 0-1, then Team B would advance because the aggregate score would be 3-3, and Team B scored more goals on the road

[@yashseth5378]

👍👍

[@captainfalconmain6576]

I actually still think champions league should still champions only then second and third place go to Europa league then 4th place conference league

[@jacksonhall9065]

Bro is that a Pixar Cars DVD on your shelf

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Hahahaha you're the first to notice...

[@jacksonhall9065]

@@snowmansportsmedia Haha, I respect it! Great video too, thanks for the education! :-)

[@TheCul8]

So in the initial 8 group stages each team plays 6 games against a club in that same group? Meaning 3 matches at home and 3 away?

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Each group has 4 teams, so every team plays the other 3 teams in their group once at home and once on the road for a total of 6 games

[@TheCul8]

@@snowmansportsmedia okay! Thank you :)

[@ricardojr9240]

College sports and European soccer are operating on the same wave length

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Agreed

[@andrewk6008]

what happens with a tie game in the final?

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Extra time and then Penalties, if necessary!

[@andthatisall525]

Shit is wild! Makes me want to start following soccer in Europe.

[@JS-dj5fu]

football

[@therockiesfan3]

What happens if, in a knockout round, a team wins the first leg 2-1 and then loses the next 1-2?

[@snowmansportsmedia]

Then they would play 30 mins of extra time and if they're still tied, a penalty shootout

[@kardosevi]

Nice job, would you please consider language noobs like us, I had to explain to my cousin the difference between home Game and “on the road “ game for an hour 😅4:45

[@benyoucefkarim1316]

game in your own home stadium, and a game in the opponents stadium

[@kardosevi]

@@benyoucefkarim1316 No hurry mate, you could’ve taken your time

[@appleslover]

Thank you for using "football" I'm crying hearing it from an American

[@nathandosantosrono5464]

What happens to a slot e.g Liverpool qualify for UEFA Champions league since they are the current winners and they finish top 4?

[@snowmansportsmedia]

I believe if that happens, then the Premier League 5th place team would qualify for the Champions League too!

[@sskillergame]

​@@snowmansportsmediaThe team allocation for each domestic league (association) is locked by UEFA based on coefficient (as your video stated) and does not change. The top 10 associations in 2019 (based on the second column of the UEFA coefficient from the screenshot at 1:41) are guaranteed at least 1 slot in the group stages of 2020-21, these are: 1. Spain (La Liga), England (English Premier League), Germany (Bundesliga), Italy (Serie A) - 4 slots 2. France (Ligue 1), Russia (Russian Premier Liga) - 2 slots 3. Portugal (Primeira Liga), Ukraine (Ukrainian Premier League), Belgium (Jupiler Pro League), Turkey (Süper Lig) - 1 slot From here 24 from the 26 group stage are secured, and as said in your video, the remaining 2 slots are for the UCL and UEL champions. To answer the question by @Nathandosantos Rono, if Liverpool wins the UCL and finish in Top 4 in the Premier League, the association ranked 11th, which is the Netherlands in 2019, automatically qualify for the Group Stages. The 5th placed team in the Premier League does not qualify for the Champions League. There are two scenarios with the UCL winners and their domestic positioning (Let's use Liverpool and the coefficients of 2019 as example): 1. (As stated) Liverpool wins UCL and finish Top 4, the champions of the Netherlands qualify immediately to the UCL Group Stages 2. Liverpool wins the UCL but finish outside the Top 4, the 4th placed team of the Premier League plays in the Europa League instead.

[@sskillergame]

@Joe S oh really? then my bad then hahaha

[@imanillegalimmigrant]

No, what happens is that a the 11th best rank countries champions makes the group stage. Let's take 19/20. Liverpool made top 4 and won the UCL. So 11th place Austria's champion which is Red Bull Salzburg made it to the group stage.

[@imanillegalimmigrant]

You all are wrong!

[@zotryt6222]

5:10 So when do el classico happen ?

[@benyoucefkarim1316]

mate el classico is when barcalona plays real madrid, no matter what competition and time, el classico happens in the spanish league LA LIGA and it happend once where they faced each other in champions league semi final

[@VictorSilva-qf2tu]

Since only 5 premier league clubs can qualify to the champions league; what happens if two english clubs win the Champions and the Europa league and they end outside the top four in the Premier League ? Although extremely unlikely, if it happens, what then ?

[@ELEnoir]

The team who finished 4th goes to Europa League