They Are the Champions of the Future - UEFA 2011

With so many different leagues and competitions, football often seems to just roll on and on. There is not such a specific competition phase, celebration phase and off-season … the focus is always on the future. Even with the UEFA Champions League 2009-2010 final just around the corner, the talk is still focusing on the competition for next year!  So today, that's what we're talking about as well. Regardless of whether Italy has three spots or four, and which of the two European mainland countries gets third in the country rankings, this is what we know about the future!

The Venue

Wembley Stadium in London has been selected as the venue for the final of next year's UEFA Champions League. Incredibly, this has been known for over a year - it was decided in Jan 2009.

The Teams

We know that at least two clubs that contested the UEFA Champions League cup this year won’t be doing so next year - Liverpool has been dumped out of the Champions League, as has Juventus. There are rumours that Rafa Benitez's time at Liverpool will be coming to an end after the disappointing results.  Juventus drew in their match at Catania against Napoli recently, meaning they won't be in with a chance next year.

The Draw Dates

The matches for the qualifying rounds will be drawn in June and July of this year, and draws for the playoff round will begin at the start of August. There really is very little time off! Of course, the knockout phase is a while away… it won’t be drawn until mid-March next year.

The Group Stage

The following teams have already made it into the Group Stage, based on their results from 2009-2010 season.

• Chelsea
• Manchester United
• Barcelona
• Real Madrid
• Internazionale
• Roma
• Bayern Munich
• Schalke

• Rubin Kazan
• Spartak Moscow
• Twente
• Panathinaikos
• Rangers

The following teams are yet to be determined, but will be added to the teams above in the Group Stage:

• Third placed team of the 2009–10 Premier League
• Third placed team of the 2009–10 La Liga
• Third placed team of the 2009–10 Serie A
• Champions of the 2009–10 Ligue 1
• Runners-up of the 2009–10 Ligue 1

• Champions of the 2009–10 Ukrainian Premier League
• Champions of the 2009–10 Liga
• Champions of the 2009–10 Portuguese Liga
• Champions of the 2009–10 Turkish Super League