The 2025/26 Champions League qualifiers you’ve probably never heard of

Real Madrid. Barcelona. Manchester City. Paris Saint-Germain. Bayern Munich. The usual suspects are all, of course, in the draw for the league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League, which takes place in Monaco at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT) on Thursday, August 28.

However, there will also be some much less familiar names among the 36 teams taking part, which will be finalized when the playoff qualification round concludes on Wednesday, August 27.

Pafos

Founded only 11 years ago in June 2014, Pafos of Cyprus won their first major trophy, the Cypriot Cup, in May 2024. They followed that success by clinching their maiden league title in 2024/25, which earned them a spot in Champions League qualifying.

Coached by Spaniard Juan Carlos Carcedo, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery’s former assistant, Pafos reached the group stage for the first time thanks to victories in qualifying over Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel), Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine), and Crvena zvezda (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia).

Former Chelsea, PSG, and Arsenal defender David Luiz, now 38, is undoubtedly their biggest-name player.

Kairat

Kairat were crowned champions of Kazakhstan for the fourth time in 2024, earning a place in the first round of 2025/26 Champions League qualifying. Based in the city of Almaty, Kairat previously reached the second qualifying round in 2021/22.

After wins over Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia), KuPS (Finland), and Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), they were expected to come unstuck against Scottish champions Celtic in the playoff round, but progressed to the league phase on penalties after two 0-0 draws.

Located in the far southeast of Kazakhstan near the border with China, Almaty, the country’s biggest city, is thousands of miles away from most of Kairat’s potential group-stage opponents.

Bodø/Glimt

If you were paying attention to the Europa League last season, you’ll likely know Bodø/Glimt, who became the first Norwegian team to reach the semifinals of a European club competition.

Having won four of the last five Norwegian titles, they’ve gained plenty of European experience in recent years and posted some big victories, including a 6-1 thrashing of José Mourinho’s Roma in the Europa League. However, this will be their first appearance in the Champions League proper after falling short in qualifying three times.

The town of Bodø is 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle, meaning another long away trip for some of Europe’s top teams.

Qarabag

Unless you were paying very close attention, you may have missed Qarabag’s sole Champions League campaign in 2017/18. The Azerbaijani champions, who have won 11 of the last 12 domestic championships, finished bottom of a group containing Chelsea, Atlético Madrid, and Roma, but did manage to hold Diego Simeone’s team to two draws.

Qarabag must navigate the second leg of a playoff-round tie against Ferencváros of Hungary in Baku on Wednesday, but are heavy favorites to progress with a two-goal lead from last week’s first leg.

Union Saint-Gilloise

Union Saint-Gilloise were the dominant force in Belgian soccer in the first 35 years of the 20th century before a long period of decline. Their recent resurgence coincided with a takeover by British businessman Tony Bloom, also the chairman of Premier League club Brighton.

After narrowly missing out on league titles in 2022, 2023, and 2024, Union Saint-Gilloise won their first championship in 90 years last season, securing direct qualification for the league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League.

Former Arsenal youth player Christian Burgess leads the team, which also includes Kevin Mac Allister, brother of Liverpool star Alexis, and Sofiane Boufal, who previously played in the Premier League for Southampton.

2025/26 Champions League qualifiers

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