2016–17 UEFA Champions League facts for kids
The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff will host the final.
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 28 June – 24 August 2016 (qualifying) 13 September 2016 – 3 June 2017 (competition proper) |
| Teams | 32 (group stage) 78 (total) (from 53 associations) |
The 2016-17 UEFA Champions League was the 62nd time this big football tournament for clubs in Europe was held. It's organized by UEFA. This season was also the 25th time the tournament was called the UEFA Champions League, after it changed its name from the European Champion Clubs' Cup.
The final game of the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final was played in Cardiff, Wales, at the Millennium Stadium. Real Madrid were the champions from the year before.
Contents
How Teams Qualified
Before the main part of the Champions League starts, many teams have to play in qualifying rounds. This is like a series of smaller tournaments to decide which teams get to join the biggest clubs in the group stage.
Teams play two games against each other: one at home and one away. The team that scores more goals in total from both games moves on. If the scores are tied, the team that scored more goals away from home wins. Sometimes, if it's still tied, they play extra time or even have a penalty shootout.
First and Second Rounds
The first and second qualifying rounds involved teams from smaller football leagues across Europe. They played exciting matches to try and move closer to the main tournament.
Third Round
In the third round, more teams joined the competition. This round was split into two paths:
- Champions Route: This path was for teams that won their country's league but were from countries that don't automatically get a spot in the group stage.
- League Route: This path was for teams that finished high in their country's league but didn't win it. These teams were usually from stronger leagues.
Teams that lost in this round didn't go home empty-handed. They got a chance to play in another big European tournament called the UEFA Europa League.
Play-off Round
The play-off round was the final step before the group stage. The teams that won their matches here earned a spot in the main part of the UEFA Champions League. The draw for these matches happened on August 5, 2016.
Here are the teams that won their play-off matches and made it to the group stage:
Ludogorets Razgrad
Celtic
Copenhagen
Dinamo Zagreb
Legia Warsaw
Manchester City
Monaco
Porto
Rostov
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Group Stage
The group stage is where the real action begins! Thirty-two teams are divided into eight groups of four teams each. Every team plays every other team in their group twice: once at home and once away.
The draw for the group stage was held on August 25, 2016, in Monaco.
These teams automatically qualified for the group stage because they are champions of top leagues or finished very high in strong leagues:
These teams joined them after winning their play-off matches:
- Borussia Mönchengladbach
- Celtic
- Copenhagen
- Dinamo Zagreb
- Legia Warsaw
- Ludogorets Razgrad
- Manchester City
- Monaco
- Porto
- Rostov
Knockout Stage
After the group stage, the top two teams from each group move on to the knockout stages. This means if a team loses a match, they are out of the tournament. It's a very exciting part of the competition!
The draw for the "Round of 16" (when 16 teams are left) was held on December 12, 2016. Teams then play through quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finally, the big final match.
Top Scorers
In the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League, the player who scored the most goals was Lionel Messi from Barcelona, with 6 goals.
See also
In Spanish: Liga de Campeones de la UEFA 2016-17 para niños
