UEFA sets September 2 deadline for Champions League squad registration

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UEFA has set September 2 as the deadline for clubs to submit their List A squads for the 2026/27 Champions League league phase, with clubs allowed to register a maximum of 25 players.

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According to UEFA on its website on Monday, List A must be submitted by clubs and subsequently verified and validated by their respective associations by 23:59 CET on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

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The governing body said clubs must comply with the squad-size limit and locally trained-player quota when submitting their lists for the competition.

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“Clubs are entitled to register a maximum of 25 players on List A during the season, of whom at least two must be goalkeepers.

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“As a minimum, eight of those 25 places are reserved exclusively for ‘locally trained players’ and no club may have more than four ‘association-trained players’ listed among those eight places,” UEFA said.

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UEFA added that clubs with fewer than eight locally trained players would have their maximum List A squad size reduced accordingly.

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The governing body defines locally trained players in two categories: “club-trained players who have been registered with a club for three entire seasons, or 36 months, between the ages of 15 and 21; and association-trained players who have spent the same period registered with a club or clubs affiliated to the same national association.”

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Clubs will also be able to register an unlimited number of players on List B during the season, subject to UEFA’s eligibility requirements.

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“List B can be amended throughout the season and must be submitted no later than 23:59 CET on the day before the match in question,” UEFA said.

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A player can be included on List B if he was born on or after January 1, 2005, and has been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years since his 15th birthday, or for a total of three consecutive years with a maximum one-year loan spell at a club from the same association.

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UEFA said 16-year-old players could also qualify for List B if they had been registered with the club for the previous two years without interruption.

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The rules also allow players who have appeared for another club during the qualifying rounds of UEFA’s three men’s club competitions to feature for a different club in the Champions League from the league phase.

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“A player who has been fielded in the first, second or third qualifying round, or in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or UEFA Conference League, is entitled to play in the UEFA Champions League for another club as from the league phase,” UEFA said.

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Clubs that advance to the knockout phase will have an opportunity to make further changes to their squads.

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UEFA said such clubs may register a maximum of three new players by 23:59 CET on February 4, 2027.

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“Any or all of those players may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or league phase of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or UEFA Conference League,” it said.

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The overall 25-player List A limit will remain in place, as will the requirement for eight locally trained players.

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UEFA also provides for replacements in exceptional circumstances involving long-term injuries or illness.

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During the league phase, up to and including Matchday 6, a club may temporarily replace a maximum of one outfield player suffering from a long-term injury or illness lasting at least 60 days, provided the replacement was already registered with the club before the September 2 List A deadline.

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Goalkeepers are subject to separate replacement provisions. A goalkeeper suffering a long-term injury or illness lasting at least 30 days can be temporarily replaced at any point during the season.

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UEFA said a goalkeeper can also be replaced after Matchday 6 and before the end of the league phase if he leaves the club on a permanent transfer.

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The 2026/27 Champions League league phase begins on September 8, with the competition scheduled to conclude with the final at Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium on June 5, 2027.

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