Celtic will have to face a qualifying round before confirming their place in the Champions League proper for the first time.
Despite an excellent showing in Europe’s top-tier competition, Scotland’s coefficient ranking means that the Hoops must face a Champions League qualifier in order to advance to the league phase.
Brendan Rodgers’ side will discover who they could face in the coming weeks but before the games, with the first leg on 19-20 August and the second a week later.
Before that, the Celtic boss must decide which players will make the cut for his squad to face whoever they are drawn to face.
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When do Celtic have to register their squad for Champions League play-off?
Celtic still have time to confirm their squad details with the deadline at midnight on Thursday, August 14.
Rodgers will be allowed to select 25 players in total and as per UEFA rules, would be allowed to make two late additions up until the day before the game.
Summer signings Kieran Tierney, Benjamin Nygren and Shin Yamada can all be expected to feature.
As part of the registration process, Celtic will also require at least eight of the 25-man squad to be classed as homegrown, with no more than four of those eight allowed to be association-trained (trained by any club in the same association for three years between the ages of 15 and 21).
When are the Champions League phase 2025/26 fixtures?
Should the Bhoys come through the play-off round unscathed they will face a series of eight league games in a bid to reach the knockout stages like they did last season before falling short against Bayern Munich.
- Matchday 1: 16-18 September 2025
- Matchday 2: 30 September-1 October 2025
- Matchday 3: 21/22 October 2025
- Matchday 4: 4/5 November 2025
- Matchday 5: 25/26 November 2025
- Matchday 6: 9/10 December 2025
- Matchday 7: 20/21 January 2026
- Matchday 8: 28 January 2026
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