2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying was the preliminary phase of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, prior to the competition proper. Qualification consisted of the qualifying phase (first to third rounds) and the play-off round. It began on 30 June and ended on 26 August 2015. A total of 56 teams competed to decide 10 of the 32 places in the group stage.[1]
In the qualifying phase and play-off round, each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time was played, divided into two 15-minute halves. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time, i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by penalty shoot-out.[1]
In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. Due to the limited time between matches, the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the results of the previous round were known. For these draws (or in any cases where the result of a tie in the previous round was not known at the time of the draw), the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient was to advance, it simply took the seeding of its defeated opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA formed "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other, and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.[1]
There were two routes which the teams were separated into during qualifying:
Champions Route, which included all domestic champions which had not qualified for the group stage.
League Route (also called the Non-champions Path or the Best-placed Path), which included all domestic non-champions which had not qualified for the group stage.
A total of 56 teams (41 in Champions Route, 15 in League Route) were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round. The 10 winners of the play-off round (5 in Champions Route, 5 in League Route) advanced to the group stage to join the 22 teams which entered in the group stage. The 15 losers of the third qualifying round entered the Europa League play-off round, and the 10 losers of the play-off round entered the Europa League group stage.[1]
Below are the participating teams (with their 2015 UEFA club coefficients),[6] grouped by their starting rounds.[7]
A total of 34 teams played in the second qualifying round: 30 teams which entered in this round, and the four winners of the first qualifying round.[3] The draw was held on 22 June 2015.[8][9]
† Winners of the first qualifying round whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the first qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the second qualifying round.
The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League play-off round.
A total of 30 teams played in the third qualifying round:[4]
Champions Route: three teams which entered in this round, and the 17 winners of the second qualifying round.
League Route: ten teams which entered in this round.
† Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the second qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the third qualifying round.
The play-off round was split into two sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage.
A total of 20 teams played in the play-off round:[5]
Champions Route: the ten Champions Route winners of the third qualifying round.
League Route: five teams which entered in this round, and the five League Route winners of the third qualifying round.
^Levadia Tallinn played their home match at A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, instead of their regular stadium Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn.
^ abPyunik played their home matches at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, instead of their regular stadium Football Academy Stadium, Yerevan.
^B36 Tórshavn played their home match at Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, instead of their regular stadium Gundadalur, Tórshavn.
^Rudar Pljevlja played their home match at Stadion pod Malim brdom, Petrovac, instead of their regular stadium Gradski stadion, Pljevlja.
^Trenčín played their home match at Štadión pod Dubňom, Žilina, instead of their regular stadium Štadión na Sihoti, Trenčín.
^ abSteaua București played their home matches behind closed doors due to UEFA punishment.[12][13]
^Milsami Orhei played their third qualifying round home match at Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, instead of their regular stadium CSR Orhei, Orhei.
^ abSkënderbeu played their third qualifying and play-off rounds home matches at Elbasan Arena, Elbasan, instead of their regular stadium Skënderbeu Stadium, Korçë.
^ abShakhtar Donetsk played their home matches at Arena Lviv, Lviv, instead of their regular stadium, the Donbas Arena in Donetsk, due to the war in Donbas.
Note: In 1991–92, the competition was still known as the European Cup, but is included as it was the first to use a group stage format. In that season and 1992–93, there was no knockout phase between the group stage and final.
FC Santa Coloma
Levadia Tallinn
Folgore
The New Saints
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Vardar
Rudar Pljevlja
Lech Poznań
Astana
Dundalk
HJK
Žalgiris
Stjarnan
Steaua București
Dila Gori
Milsami Orhei
Fola Esch
Videoton
Basel
Viktoria Plzeň
Club Brugge
Monaco
Ajax
Shakhtar Donetsk
Bayer Leverkusen
Seydou Doumbia
Ahmed Musa
Hillal Soudani
Jairo da Silva