UEFA Champions League kickoff times: When do matches start in 2024/25 league phase and knockout rounds?

Joe Wright

UEFA Champions League kickoff times: When do matches start in 2024/25 league phase and knockout rounds? image

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League sees the first significant changes to the competition's format for the best part of two decades.

Starting from this season, the opening phase of the competition proper now consists of a "league phase" rather than the traditional group stage. That means all 36 sides are ranked together in a league table, with only the top eight guaranteed to go through to the knockouts.

There will also be eight matchdays in this first stage of the tournament, an increase from the previous six in the old group phase. That means we won't know the precise makeup of the first knockout round until the middle part of February, after the playoffs for the final eight spaces in the Round of 16 have taken place.

What does this changed format mean for kickoff times of individual games? The Sporting News explains.

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UEFA Champions League kickoff times

UEFA Champions League games in 2024/25 generally kick off in one of two time slots, both for the league phase and knockout stage: 6:45 p.m. CET (Central European Time), and 9:00 p.m. CET.

MORE: The full draw for the UCL league phase | Winners and losers of 2024/25 draw

When do Champions League matches kick off in league phase?

As per UEFA rules, all league-phase games kick off in one of those two regular time slots: 6:45 p.m. CET, and 9 p.m. CET.

In each matchday, two games played on Tuesday and two on Wednesday kick off in the earlier slot. On Matchday 1 of the 2024/25 season, two games will also be played at that time on Thursday. All the other matches fall into the 9 p.m. slot, unless there are particular exceptions granted by UEFA.

On the final matchday of the league phase, all games kick off simultaneously at 9 p.m. CET on Wednesday, January 29, to ensure sporting fairness.

Below is how those time slots translate to some of the major territories.

Champions League league phase kickoff times 2024/25

 6:45 p.m. CET kickoff time9 p.m. CET kickoff time
USA12:45 p.m. ET3:00 p.m. ET
Canada12:45 p.m. ET3:00 p.m. ET
UK5:45 p.m. BST8:00 p.m. BST
Australia2:30 a.m. AEDT*5:00 a.m. AEDT*
India10:15 p.m. IST12:30 a.m. IST*

*The following day

When do Champions League matches kick off in knockout phase?

In the first round of the knockout phase — the Round of 16 — game times follow the same format as they do in the league phase: kickoffs are scheduled for either 6:45 p.m. CET or 9 pm. CET, barring special exceptions granted by UEFA.

MORE: All the latest Champions League news | How does the 2024/25 Champions League work? | Full UCL match schedule

All quarterfinal and semifinal matches, plus the final, kick off in the 9 p.m. slot (again, unless UEFA gives special permission for a change to those times).

Champions League knockout phase kickoff times 2024/25

Round of 16:

 6:45 p.m. CET kickoff time9 p.m. CET kickoff time
USA12:45 p.m. ET3:00 p.m. ET
Canada12:45 p.m. ET3:00 p.m. ET
UK5:45 p.m. BST8:00 p.m. BST
Australia2:30 a.m. AEDT*5:00 a.m. AEDT*
India10:15 p.m. IST12:30 a.m. IST*

*The following day

Quarterfinals, semifinals, and final: 

 9 p.m. CET kickoff time
USA3:00 p.m. ET
Canada3:00 p.m. ET
UK8:00 p.m. BST
Australia5:00 a.m. AEDT*
India12:30 a.m. IST*

*The following day 

How to watch Champions League 2024/25 around the world

 TV channelStreaming
AustraliaStan Sport
CanadaDAZN
IndiaSony TENJioTV, Sony LIV
UKTNT Sportsdiscovery+, Amazon Prime
USACBS, CBSSN,
Univision, TUDN,
UniMas
Fubo, Paramount+,
ViX or ViX+

How to buy Champions League tickets 2024/25

Other than the final itself, tickets cannot be purchased from UEFA directly for European matches.

Instead, the primary ticket sales are conducted by the participating clubs themselves so that fans can access them seamlessly just as they would other matches.

Once the tickets are distributed, fans can still get tickets on the secondary market, with StubHub International as the best place to find tickets to Champions League games.

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Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.