Key eventsShow only the most significant events. Please enable JavaScript to utilize this functionality. An email and a link. Paul Roche is passing the time. Who wouldn’t enjoy some late 70s synth-pop to make these dull draws more bearable, Dominic? Joe Cole needs his mic fixed. He claims he wants “favorable draws for all the English teams,” but it seems Chelsea and West Ham didn’t make the cut, Joe.
Now, the Uefa drawmasters, led by Giorgio Marchetti, make their entrance. Eric Abidal and Joe Cole, tonight’s special guests, join them on stage to help with the draw. Both have connections to Wembley, the final location, with Cole being a Londoner and Abidal having lifted the Champions League trophy at Wembley in 2011 when Barcelona crushed Manchester United.
The Grimaldi Forum is filled with eager individuals, waiting for the draw to begin. Pedro and Reshmin provide the preamble while a dramatic montage of last year’s Champions League plays on the screens.
Manchester City triumphs in Istanbul, lifting the trophy. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Updated at 17.13 BST
Pedro Pinto and Reshmin Chowdhury are now live presenting the draw coverage. The Uefa-approved build-up has officially started.
All 32 teams in the draw
All pots are based on Uefa coefficient rankings, with Pot 1 consisting of league winners and/or major European trophy holders.
Pot 1: Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord.
Pot 2: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, Atlético Madrid, RB Leipzig, Porto, Arsenal.
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Salzburg, Milan, Braga, PSV, Lazio, Crvena zvezda, Copenhagen.
Pot 4: Young Boys, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, Celtic, Newcastle, Union Berlin, Antwerp, Lens.
Turn up the volume and get into the spirit.
Today’s Football Daily is out and about, focusing on Rangers’ failure to qualify for this Big Cup draw. PSV crushed them, securing the opportunity to finish third in any group.
An email from Krishna arrives as we prepare for the 5pm start time: Good evening Dominic. Ten years ago, Barcelona was the team to avoid. Now, it’s a tournament where 32 teams compete and Real Madrid wins. Will the recent success of English clubs shift the momentum in favor of the Premier League? A thought-provoking question. I would argue that substituting Premier League with Manchester City would bring you closer to the truth.
Before we dive into the details, three things to note: Firstly, the 5pm BST start time is unlikely to be met. These draws never start on time. Secondly, teams cannot be drawn into the same group as another team from their own association. And finally, the Uefa men’s and women’s players and coaches of the year will be honored during the ceremony, along with the Uefa President’s Award, which will be given to Miroslav Klose. Ol’ Big Ears itself. Photograph: Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images
Here’s Nick Ames’ scene-setter from Monte Carlo, where Uefa is surrounded by controversy as Luis Rubiales faces calls to resign following the Women’s World Cup scandal.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our coverage of today’s Champions League group stage draw. There’s more to today’s event than meets the eye. It has been overshadowed by the scandal involving Uefa’s vice-president, Luis Rubiales, who is facing pressure to step down after the Women’s World Cup controversy. Additionally, this will be the last Champions League group stage draw in its current format, as it will expand to 36 teams in one large group starting from 2024. With the final qualifiers already determined earlier this week, we are now ready for the grand ceremony in Monte Carlo at 5pm BST.
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