Champions League: UEFA Sets Deadline For Clubs To Summit Squad

Ahead of the 2026/27 Champions League league phase scheduled to begin on September 8, 2026, UEFA has fixed September 2, 2026, as the deadline for clubs to submit their List A squads for the tournament.

The European football governing body said clubs must submit their squads, which will subsequently be verified and approved by their respective national associations, by 11:59pm CET on Wednesday, September 2.

According to UEFA, clubs must comply with the 25-player limit as well as the requirement for locally trained players.

UEFA said each club can register a maximum of 25 players on List A, with at least two places reserved for goalkeepers.

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

“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.

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

The first are club-trained players who have been registered with a club for three full seasons, or 36 months, between the ages of 15 and 21.

The second category covers association-trained players who have spent the same period registered with one or more clubs affiliated with the same national association.

Clubs will also be allowed to register an unlimited number of eligible players on List B throughout the season.

Unlike List A, List B can be changed during the campaign and must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm CET on the day before a particular Champions League match.

According to UEFA, a player can qualify for List B if he was born on or after January 1, 2005, and has been eligible to play for the club continuously for two years since turning 15.

A player may also qualify if he has spent three consecutive years with the club, subject to a maximum one-year loan spell at a club affiliated with the same national association.

UEFA said players aged 16 can also qualify if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years without interruption.

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

“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.

Clubs that reach the knockout phase will also be permitted to make changes to their squads.

UEFA said a maximum of three new players can be registered by clubs that progress to the knockout stage, with the deadline set for 11:59pm CET on February 4, 2027.

The three players may have previously featured for another club during the qualifying phase, play-offs, or league phase of the Champions League, Europa League, or Conference League.

However, the 25-player List A limit will remain unchanged, as will the requirement for eight locally trained players.

UEFA has also included provisions for clubs dealing with long-term injuries or illnesses.

During the league phase, up to and including Matchday 6, a club can temporarily replace a maximum of one outfield player who suffers a long-term injury or illness lasting at least 60 days.

The replacement must have already been registered with the club before the September 2 List A deadline.

Different rules apply to goalkeepers, Naija News observed.

A goalkeeper suffering a long-term injury or illness lasting at least 30 days can be temporarily replaced at any point during the season.

UEFA also allows a goalkeeper to be replaced after Matchday 6 and before the end of the league phase if the player leaves the club on a permanent transfer.

Meanwhile, the final phase of the Champions League will be played at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on June 5, 2027.