For the current 2025–26 season, the Champions League “playoffs” (the knockout phase play‑offs before the round of 16) are scheduled for mid to late February 2026.

Key dates for the Champions League playoffs

  • The knockout phase play-off ties are played on 17–18 February 2026 (first legs) and 24–25 February 2026 (second legs).
  • These playoffs decide which teams join the eight automatically qualified sides in the round of 16.

How this fits into the new format

Under the new league‑phase format, teams first play eight league matches, then:

  • Top teams advance directly to the round of 16.
  • Teams lower down in the league phase standings go into the knockout playoffs in February.
  • Winners of those playoff ties move on to the round of 16 in March (10–11 and 17–18 March 2026).

Quick HTML table of main knockout dates

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Stage</th>
      <th>First leg dates</th>
      <th>Second leg dates</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Knockout phase play-offs</td>
      <td>17–18 February 2026</td>
      <td>24–25 February 2026</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Round of 16</td>
      <td>10–11 March 2026</td>
      <td>17–18 March 2026</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Quarter-finals</td>
      <td>7–8 April 2026</td>
      <td>14–15 April 2026</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Semi-finals</td>
      <td>28–29 April 2026</td>
      <td>5–6 May 2026</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Final</td>
      <td colspan="2">30 May 2026 (Budapest)</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

In forum discussions, people often refer to those February ties simply as “the Champions League playoffs,” meaning the mid‑February knockout fixtures that bridge the league phase and the round of 16.

TL;DR: The Champions League playoffs for 2025–26 are in mid‑February 2026: 17–18 and 24–25 February.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.