No anthems or special balls - but Champions League starts now

BBC News

08-07-2025

In some ways the purest form of the Champions League starts this week.It is only 38 days since Paris St-Germain demolished Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena in front of the eyes of the world - but the vibe is very different as the new campaign kicks off.The first qualifying round begins on Tuesday at 16:00 BST in Kuopio, Finland, with 28 teams - all of them champions of their country - in action this week.There may be no Champions League anthem before games and clubs just use their own balls but it is the Champions League still - including Virtus, from San Marino, who are eight games away from the league phase.Only Liechtenstein, who do not have a league, and Russia, who remain banned because of the war with Ukraine, do not get at least one Champions League spot.It is a long road to the 2026 final in Budapest in 326 days' time, although it is likely every club kicking off this week will be footnotes by then.BBC Sport has a look at some of the stories, teams and ties involved this week.
Could someone go all the way?
Only 10 teams managed to go all the way through from the first round of Champions League qualifying to the group or league phase - including Slovan Bratislava last year.Slovan got past Struga, Celje, Apoel and Midtjylland... before losing all eight league games. But just getting there meant they earned more than £15m. And their 16 matches played were only one fewer than champions PSG.If a team went all the way through to the final they could end up playing 25 Champions League games (a path that requires them featuring in the the knockout phase play-offs).Only one team have reached the knockout stages after starting in the very first round - Liverpool in 2005-06.The Reds were Champions League winners in 2005, but finished fifth in the Premier League - and back then the holders did not automatically qualify. Uefa gave them special dispensation, but they had to start in the first round of qualifying.They got through three rounds of qualifying (as it was back then) - beating TNS, FBK Kaunas and CSKA Sofia - and won their group before a last-16 exit.
The 552nd best team
Virtus, champions of San Marino, are the lowest-ranked team in the draw by some distance. All of their players and staff have other jobs.Uefa's 10-year club coefficients ranks them 552nd (out of 554 teams), a list that only includes teams who have played in Europe over that period of time.Last season was their debut in Europe, as they lost 11-1 to Romanian side FCSB in this round.A second consecutive league title has them competing again - this time against Bosnian champions Zrinjski Mostar.But the club accept they have very little chance of advancing and see it as a privilege to be involved. For one thing no Sammarinese team have ever won a Champions League tie.Instead they are confident of competing well in the Conference League third qualifying round, which the losers of this game will drop into.Club president Pier Domenico Giulianelli said: "This is our second time in the Champions League, and we're sure that the experience last year will be useful. "We know these will be two very tough matches, but I'm confident the boys will give their all on the pitch."The club are expecting about 1,000 fans at the San Marino Stadium in Serravalle, with about three-quarters of them coming from Bosnia. They usually get 50-100 people at their home games.Their only San Marino international is Alessandro Golinucci, who captained the country to their famous win over Liechtenstein last September which ended a 20-year run without a victory.
The new boys
The only Champions League debutants in the first round of qualifying are Armenian side FC Noah.Last season they went through every round of Conference League qualifying before reaching the league phase, where they lost one game 8-0 at Chelsea.The Yerevan side, who were only formed eight years ago and named after the religious figure Noah, are a team trying to get places quickly under owner Vardges Vardanyan.They signed 16 players last summer and a new manager in Rui Mota. They went on to win the league and cup double.Portuguese Mota left for Ludogorets (more on them in a bit) this summer, with 41-year-old Croatian Sandro Perkovic taking his place. Club development director Anna Ohanyan told BBC Sport: "Taking part in the Champions League qualifiers is a historic moment for FC Noah. "Just two seasons after the new management stepped in, we managed to qualify for the league phase of a European competition, became champions of Armenia, won the Armenian Cup - and now here we are in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. This is only the beginning."We fought hard to win the Armenian championship because we have bigger ambitions for ourselves and for Armenian football. This qualification gives us a chance to show that ambition to the whole of Europe."They play Montenegrin side Buducnost Podgorica.Cypriot side Pafos FC, who enter at the second-round stage - where they play Maccabi Tel Aviv - are also in the competition for the first time.
The regulars
Bulgarian champions Ludogorets are in the first round of qualifying for the eighth consecutive year.For six years before that they entered in the second qualifying round - under an old system where the first round only involved a handful of teams.So their 14 consecutive league titles have meant 14 years of Champions League qualifying. Twice they reached the groups: in 2014-15, where they earned a 2-2 draw with Liverpool, and 2016-17.In 2009 they were an amateur third-tier team, who had never been in the top flight.The following year pharmaceutical multi-millionaire Kiril Domuschiev took them over, they won immediate promotion and have won the title in each and every top-flight season they have ever played in.This year they take on Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk.
The derbies
There are two derbies between teams from neighbouring countries in the first qualifying round.Dublin side Shelbourne and Belfast club Linfield meet in a rematch of the 2005 Setanta Sports Cup, the old competition between the champions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.That was also the last year Shels were in the Champions League until now - with a young Wes Hoolahan in the team.They go into the game with a new manager in former West Ham defender Joey O'Brien after the surprise resignation of Damien Duff.Linfield, as 57-time champions of Northern Ireland, are regulars at this stage. They are also managed by an ex-Premier League player, with former Leeds, Preston and Sunderland striker David Healy at the helm.Their respective grounds are less than a two-hour drive apart - which for Shelbourne is a shorter journey than some league games. However, they have to stay in Belfast the night before the game because of pre-match media obligations.Both legs of that tie will be live on the BBC Sport website and iPlayer.The other derby is between Levadia Tallinn of Estonia and Latvian side RFS (which once stood for Riga Football School but is now their name).They could meet again later this year if the irregularly held Livonian Cup - between the champions of Estonia and Latvia is played again. Paulius Jakelis, head of marketing and communications at RFS, told BBC Sport: "From a travel perspective, it's ideal - just a four-hour bus ride and we're there. "It means minimal travel costs, simpler planning and logistics, and much easier access for our fans."
How about the British teams?
Perennial Welsh champions TNS, who play their home games in England, play Shkendija of North Macedonia. Neutrals will hope it is half as dramatic as when they met at this stage in 2018 with Shkendija winning 5-4 on aggregate. The Macedonians won 5-0 at home, with TNS falling just short in the second leg in Oswestry's Park Hall with a 4-0 win.Lincoln Red Imps, champions of British Overseas Territory Gibraltar - the second lowest-ranked league - face Faroese side Vikingur.Among their squad is 43-year-old Lee Casciaro, who has been with the club since 1998, and scored against Celtic in a shock first-leg win in 2016.Speaking of Glasgow teams, Rangers enter the Champions League at the second qualifying round against Panathinaikos. Celtic start off at the play-off round.England's six representatives - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham - go straight into the league phase.
What next for the losers?
The teams who lose this round are not out of Europe entirely - dropping into the Conference League qualifiers.Most would go into the second round of the Conference League but a random draw picked two ties whose losers would go into the third round. San Marino club Virtus and Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps are involved in those two games - meaning they would be only two rounds away from the Conference League group stage.Teams who lose in the second round of Champions League qualifying would go into the third qualifying round of the Europa League by the way, and not the Conference League.
Starting in the league phase, watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 BST on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday nights.
Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.