It is that time of the year, boys and girls. With the main European football leagues having started, the time for the yearly ultimate European Tournament is upon us – the 2021/22 edition of the Champions League. While the dates for the group stages (and the knockout stages after that as well) have already been released, the groups themselves haven’t been decided – which will be rectified in a few days. The UEFA Champions League Draw itself is an event that is watched by millions around the globe and Sony has made it easier for Indians to watch the group stage selection live, by streaming it on their OTT platform. Here is everything you need to know about the tournament:
Who are in the tournament?
For now, 26 out of 32 participating teams have been determined, either by making it into the top 3 (or 4 in some cases) of the big 5 European leagues (English, French, German, Spanish and Italian), being the strongest club in other European leagues (Turkey, Netherlands, Russia, Portugal, etc) or due to their exploits in the previous years’ European tournaments (Villarreal won the Europa Cup while Chelsea won the Champions League last year). The other 6 teams will be determined by 25th August 2021, by 3:30 am at the very latest (which is when the qualifying stages of the tournament will end). The qualified 26 teams are as follows:-
Ajax (NED)
Atalanta (ITA)
Atlético Madrid (ESP)
Barcelona (ESP)
Bayern Munich (GER)
Beşiktaş (TUR)
Chelsea (ENG, current UEFA Champions League Winner)
Club Brugge (BEL)
BVB Dortmund (GER)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Inter Milan (ITA)
Juventus (ITA)
Leipzig (GER)
Liverpool (ENG)
LOSC (FRA)
Manchester City (ENG)
Manchester United (ENG)
Inter Milan (ITA)
Paris Saint Germain (FRA)
Porto (POR)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Sevilla (ESP)
Sporting CP (POR)
Villarreal (ESP, UEFA Europa League winners)
Wolfsburg (GER)
Zenit (RUS)
When and where is the Champions League Draw Happening?
The Champions League group-stage draw will take place on Thursday, August 26 2021, in Istanbul, Turkey. The draw will commence at 9:30 pm IST.
How can I Stream The Champions League Draw?
The tournament draw can be streamed in India through SonyLIV, Jio TV, Airtel TV and UEFA.COM.