Fuente : UEFA (English)
http://www.uefa.com/

UEFA Champions League draw procedure

/noticias.info/ UEFA has confirmed the draw procedure for the group stage of the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League, which will take place at 16.00CET this afternoon at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Coefficient ranking
The 32 teams will be placed in four pots in accordance with their UEFA coefficient ranking. Pot 1 will comprise the eight top-ranked clubs, Pot 2 the next eight and so on for Pots 3 and 4. The sides are therefore divided into eight groups of four, with clubs from the same country kept apart - except for holders Liverpool FC, who are without country protection after UEFA granted them special dispensation to defend the trophy, meaning they could be drawn in the same section as English champions Chelsea FC.

Teams paired
Each team will play three matches on Tuesday and three on Wednesday. If two sides from the same association qualify, they will be paired to split their matches between Tuesday and Wednesday, so one club will always play at home on one day and the other will play away on the other day. In the case of associations with three representatives, only two teams will be paired in terms of their fixtures; in the case of associations with four representatives, two pairings will be made.

Colour codings
To ensure that sides from the same country play on separate days, the eight groups will be distinguished by colour: Groups A-D will be red and Groups E-H blue. When a paired club is drawn, for example, into one of the red groups, the other paired club – once it has been drawn – will automatically be assigned to one of the four blue groups.

Positions confirmed
Teams from Pot 1 will be provisionally placed in the first position within their groups, teams from Pot 2 will provisionally take the second spot in their sections, and so on. Once the draw procedure has been completed, a computer draw will determine the final position of the sides within their group. These positions within the group will then determine the order of the home and away matches. notas_de_prensa_archivo