The current UEFA Champions League season (2025–26) has already started and is well underway as of February 2026.

Key dates in simple terms

  • The competition officially kicked off with qualifying rounds on 8 July 2025.
  • The new “league phase” (what most people think of as the main Champions League) started on 16–18 September 2025.
  • League-phase matchdays then ran through late 2025 and January 2026, with the last league games on 28 January 2026.
  • The knockout play-off ties are scheduled for 17–18 and 24–25 February 2026.
  • The final is set for 30 May 2026 in Budapest, Hungary.

So, if you’re asking “when is Champions League starting?” in February 2026, the honest answer is: the season started back in July/September 2025 , and right now it’s moving from the league phase into the knockout rounds.

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