How Can the Bundesliga Earn a Fifth UEFA Champions League Spot?

Two European leagues can now secure an additional Champions League qualification place for the following season — and the Bundesliga is firmly in contention to do so again for the 2026/27 campaign.

Germany’s top flight had five representatives in the 2024/25 Champions League after benefiting from UEFA’s revised qualification format. With the race for European places intensifying once more, there is a realistic prospect that the top five — rather than the traditional top four — could qualify for Europe’s premier club competition again.

How Does the Extra Spot Work?

As part of the Champions League’s revamped structure introduced in 2024, UEFA awards one additional qualification berth to each of the two best-performing associations in European competitions during the current season.

The system is determined by UEFA’s association club coefficient rankings. While the formula is complex, the principle is straightforward: the more victories and the further clubs from a particular league progress in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, the higher that league climbs in the coefficient table.

At present, the Bundesliga sits second in the rankings — a position that would secure an extra Champions League place if maintained until the end of the campaign. However, with the knockout rounds of all three UEFA competitions only just under way, the standings remain subject to significant change before the finals in May.

UEFA Association Club Coefficients 2025/26

(As of 23 January 2026)

1. England – 21.180

2. Germany – 16.785

3. Portugal – 16.600

4. Spain – 15.906

5. Italy – 15.500

6. France – 14.035

7. Poland – 13.625

8. Greece – 12.100

9. Cyprus – 11.906

10. Denmark – 11.750

Should Germany finish the season among the top two associations, the fifth-placed Bundesliga side would qualify for the Champions League in 2026/27.

Historical Precedent

The Bundesliga has previously benefited from similar scenarios.

Borussia Dortmund’s run to the 2023/24 Champions League final was instrumental in securing Germany an additional berth under the coefficient system, resulting in five Bundesliga representatives in 2024/25.

Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt’s triumph in the 2021/22 Europa League granted them automatic qualification for the following season’s Champions League, in addition to the four teams that qualified via league position.

Could There Even Be Six Bundesliga Teams?

There is also the theoretical possibility of six German clubs competing in the Champions League.

This scenario would occur if a Bundesliga side won either the Champions League or Europa League but finished fifth or lower domestically. In that case, the European titleholders would qualify automatically as defending champions, the top four would qualify via league position, and the fifth-placed team could also enter — provided Germany secures one of the two coefficient bonus spots.

However, if the Champions League or Europa League winners finish inside the Bundesliga’s top four, their holders’ place does not pass down domestically but instead reallocates to another association.

It is also worth noting that victory in the Conference League — for example by a club such as Mainz — would not impact Champions League qualification. Conference League winners earn a place in the Europa League, not the Champions League.

A Race on Two Fronts

For Bundesliga clubs, therefore, the battle for Champions League football is being fought on two fronts: domestically in the race for the top four (or potentially five), and across Europe in the pursuit of crucial coefficient points.

With Germany currently well positioned but no margin for complacency, the coming months in European competition could prove decisive in determining whether the Bundesliga once again earns a fifth Champions League berth.