AS Monaco's Champions League and OGC Nice's Europa League draws: we explain how UEFA will use AI to choose the Côte d'Azur clubs' opponents

On Thursday evening, Monaco's Grimaldi Forum will once again be the nerve center of continental football. On the agenda: the Champions League draw for AS Monaco, which will be one of three French representatives, along with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille.

The next day, it will be the turn of the Europa League for OGC Nice, Lille and Lyon, simultaneously with that of the Conference League.

But the days of fully manual draws are over: since last season, UEFA has adopted a hybrid system.

In concrete terms, a ball is still drawn by hand to designate a team, but it is then a computer software which automatically assigns its opponents.

This program takes into account all the constraints : no more than two clubs from the same championship, no direct confrontations between teams from the same country, balance between home and away matches, and limits linked to pots (each team must face two opponents from each pot).

This modernization prevents the draw from becoming an endless marathon, especially with 36 teams in the Champions League and the same number in the Europa League. With just one click, the computer draws each club's future.

Monaco hanging on his hat

For AS Monaco, everything still depends on the play-offs: the Prince's club will know this evening if it is in pot 3 or 4 , while PSG is in pot 1 and OM in pot 3.

The computer will take this distribution into account to generate the eight opponents for each team fairly and randomly .

For OGC Nice, who have qualified for the Europa League, the draw will take place on Friday, August 29 at 1 p.m., in a fully digital format. Once again, the software will automatically assign opponents and determine home or away matches, while respecting UEFA's rules.

Then refined calendars

The draw only reveals the fixtures. The exact dates and times of the matches will be announced by UEFA by 31 August at the latest.

In both the Champions League and the Europa League, the top eight teams from the regular phase will qualify directly for the round of 16, the clubs ranked 9th to 24th will play a play-off, and the others will be eliminated.

From this point on, we return to the classic ceremony: 100% manual prints, without filters, to leave all the room to pure chance.