UEFA has officially confirmed that 29 teams have already secured their places in next season's UEFA Champions League tournament, following the conclusion of key league matches across Europe over the weekend.

The announcement, made via UEFA's official website on Monday, comes as European football's governing body prepares for the expanded Champions League format that will increase from 32 to 36 teams in the league phase.

With seven qualification spots still up for grabs, the list of confirmed participants already features elite clubs from across Europe's top leagues, including six teams from the English Premier League.

Qualified Teams By Country

England: Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Newcastle United lead the pack with six representatives.

Spain: La Liga will send five teams including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Club, and Villarreal.

Germany: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, and Frankfurt have qualified from the Bundesliga.

Italy: Serie A will be represented by Napoli, Inter Milan, Atalanta, and Juventus.

France: Ligue 1 has secured three spots with PSG, Marseille, and Monaco.

Other qualified teams include Sporting CP (Portugal), Ajax and PSV (Netherlands), Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium), Slavia Praha (Czech Republic), Galatasaray (Turkey), and Olympiacos (Greece).

The new expanded format represents a significant shift in European club competition, moving away from the traditional group stage to a league phase where teams will play eight matches against different opponents.

Football fans across Nigeria and Africa will be watching closely as the remaining seven qualification spots are determined in the coming weeks, with several African players likely to feature prominently for their European clubs in next season's competition.