UEFA Sets September 2 Deadline For Champions League Squad Lists

UEFA has confirmed that clubs must submit their List A squads for the 2026/27 Champions League league phase by September 2, with a maximum of 25 players permitted.

Under the regulations published by European football’s governing body, all squad lists must be verified by the respective national associations by 23:59 CET on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

Each club’s List A squad must contain no more than 25 players, including at least two goalkeepers. Clubs must also have a minimum of eight locally trained players, with no more than four of those allowed to be association-trained rather than club-trained.

Any club unable to fulfil the locally trained quota will have its maximum squad size reduced accordingly.

UEFA defines a club-trained player as someone who has spent at least three full seasons or 36 months with the club between the ages of 15 and 21. An association-trained player must have spent the same period with one or more clubs affiliated with the same national association.

Clubs can register an unlimited number of eligible players on List B throughout the season.

To qualify for List B, a player must have been born on or after January 1, 2005, and have spent two uninterrupted years with the club after turning 15. Alternatively, the player must have spent three consecutive years with the club, with no more than one year spent on loan within the same association.

Players aged 16 can also qualify if they have been registered with the club continuously for the previous two years.

UEFA has also clarified that players who featured for another club during the qualifying rounds or play-offs of any of its three men’s club competitions can still represent a different club in the Champions League from the league phase onwards.

Clubs progressing to the knockout rounds will have another opportunity to strengthen their squads, with up to three new players allowed to be registered by 23:59 CET on February 4, 2027.

Those players may have already featured for another club in the qualifying or league phases of a UEFA competition.

The regulations also provide for emergency replacements in cases of serious injury or illness.

During the league phase up to Matchday 6, clubs can temporarily replace one outfield player who is ruled out for at least 60 days, provided the replacement was already registered with the club before the September 2 deadline.

Goalkeepers are subject to more flexible provisions, with a goalkeeper unavailable for at least 30 days eligible for replacement at any time. The provision can also apply after Matchday 6 if the goalkeeper leaves the club on a permanent transfer.

The 2026/27 Champions League league phase is scheduled to begin on September 8, 2026, with the final set to be played at Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium on June 5, 2027.