Champions League 2022 2023

The 68th season of Europe's elite club competition, the 31st since it was renamed the UEFA Champions League, began on 21 June 2022 and runs to 10 June 2023.

Please note that dates are subject to change.

When were Champions League qualifying matches?

UEFA via Getty Images

The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw is scheduled for 12:00 CET on Monday 7 November at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

How the draw works

• The draw features 16 teams: the winners and the runners-up from each of the eight Champions League groups.
• Two seeding pots will be formed: one consisting of the eight group winners (seeded teams) and the other of the eight runners-up (unseeded teams).
• No team can play a club from their group or any side from their own association. Any other restrictions will be announced ahead of the draw ceremony.
• Seeded group winners will play away in the round of 16 first legs and are at home in the return matches.

What are the key dates?

Round of 16: 14/15/21/22 February & 7/8/14/15 March 2023
Quarter-final and semi-final draw: 17 March 2023
Quarter-finals: 11/12 & 18/19 April 2023
Semi-finals: 9/10 & 16/17 May 2023
Final: 10 June 2023

Participation in the Champions League can net clubs a significant financial windfall, making the top UEFA competition a primary objective for many European teams.

Furthermore, results in the Champions League can significantly increase a club's payout, meaning performances in the European tournament are of the utmost importance, as is advancement from round to round.

UEFA released the detailed figures for prize money payouts in the 2022/23 Champions League, with a total purse of just over €2 billion (£1.72b / $1.98b).

The Sporting News brings you a full breakdown of all the prize money allocations for group stage and knockout stage participants in the 2022/23 Champions League.

MORE: Champions League prize money from 2021/22 | 2020/21 prize money

Champions League prize money 2022/23

Last season, champions Real Madrid collected €83.2 million in Champions League performance-based prize money, including additional €4.5 million for winning the UEFA Super Cup in August 2022.

In the 2022/23 Champions League, winning the entire competition with a perfect group stage performance would earn a maximum prize money payout of €85.14 million.

Overall Champions League prize money purse: €2.032 billion (incl. playoffs)

Other UEFA Champions League prize money

While 55 percent of the total prize purse is distributed among the clubs as a reward for their results in the competition as dictated above, the rest of the 45 percent of the pool is split across the 32 group stage participants in two ways.

Coefficient payout

A total of 30 percent of the prize money (€600.6m) is paid out to all 32 clubs in the Champions League group stage based on a coefficient algorithm that ranks their European performance over a 10-year period.

The teams are ranked from 1 to 32, with bonus points given for hoisting European trophies, and then paid out in shares. One coefficient share is worth €1.137 million. The lowest-ranked team earns one share, while the top-ranked team earns 32 shares, or €36.38m.

Broadcast market payout

An additional €300.3m (15 percent of the total purse) is made available as part of the broadcast revenue once all the broadcast deals are finalized around the continent.

Each country in the UEFA Champions League is provided a share of this money based on the proportional value of each TV market. Each national federation distributes that money to the participating Champions League clubs based on: 

• 50 percent of the allocation to a national association will be divided among the participating clubs from that nation based on fixed percentages determined by UEFA.
• the other 50 percent is paid out in proportion to the number of matches played by each club in the 2022/23 competition.

Europa League and Europa Conference League prize money

While Champions League participation nets clubs a total prize money purse of over €2 billion, the Europa League and Europa Conference League are handed purses totaling a distant second and third.

The Europa League winner will earn about €15 million in performance-based prize money in the knockout stage, plus an additional possible €4.88 million in potential group stage earnings for a perfect six-match showing.

Meanwhile, the Europa Conference League winner will earn about €8.9 million in performance-based prize money in the knockout stage, plus an additional possible €3.65 million in potential group stage earnings for a perfect six-match showing.

How did COVID-19 impact UEFA prize money?

Given the impact that COVID-19 has had on European football, UEFA announced prior to the 2021/22 competitions that some money would be withheld from prize distributions to assist with COVID-19 relief across European football.

UEFA stated that losses due to COVID-19 among European clubs in the 2019/20 season totaled €416.5 million, while clubs lost an additional €57.3 million in the 2020/21 season.

Therefore, UEFA decided to "withhold" this specific amount of money from the European cup prize pool over the next four to five seasons and allocate it to COVID-19 relief programs within European football.

Author(s)

Kyle Bonn is a soccer content producer for The Sporting News.

Who will host Champions League Final 2023?

Who qualified for Champions League 2022?

Where is the UCL Final 2023?

Who will host Champions League Final 2022?