How do European squad lists work?

What happened
Clubs competing in UEFA club competitions must register their senior squads with UEFA around the close of domestic transfer windows. The Premier League window closed recently and clubs were required to submit their senior-team lists to UEFA by 22:59 BST on Wednesday.

Key rules
- List A: maximum 25 players. Within that 25 there must be at least eight "locally-trained" players; of those eight no more than four may be "association-trained". If a club submits fewer than eight locally-trained players, its maximum squad size is reduced proportionally (for example, six locally-trained players reduces the maximum to 23). List A must include at least two goalkeepers.
- List B: unlimited in size. Players eligible for List B are those who have been eligible to play for the club for two consecutive years since their 15th birthday, or three consecutive years (including a loan within the same association) since their 15th birthday. Sixteen-year-olds can appear on List B if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years uninterrupted.
- Across both lists there must be at least three goalkeepers registered.

Locally-trained definitions and examples
- Club-trained: registered with the same club for three years between ages 15 and 21.
- Association-trained: registered with the same club, or another club in the same association, for three years between ages 15 and 21.
Both classifications count toward the eight locally-trained quota, but no more than four of the eight may be association-trained. The rules differ from domestic "homegrown" definitions used by some leagues — for example, a player can be classed homegrown domestically but not recognised as locally-trained by UEFA.

In-season changes and exceptions
- After the September registration deadline, List A is locked for the league phase, subject to permitted exceptions. Clubs that reach the knockout stages may then register up to three new players to List A. For the current cycle that registration deadline is 23:59 CET on 4 February 2027. Players who played in earlier qualifying rounds for another club may be registered for their new club from the league phase onward.
- Temporary replacements for injured or ill players: up to and including matchday six of the league phase, a player out for at least 60 days may be temporarily replaced by someone who was registered with the club before the List A deadline. The locally-trained quota must be maintained and the replaced player cannot return to the competition if they recover before the end of the tournament.
- Goalkeeper exceptions: goalkeepers injured or ill for at least 30 days (rather than 60) can be replaced at any time in the season, not just up to matchday six. A replacement goalkeeper does not have to be locally-trained even if the affected player was. If a goalkeeper permanently leaves between the end of matchday six and the end of the league phase, clubs may replace them for the remainder of the league phase without the replacement needing to be locally-trained.

Practical examples from recent seasons
- Clubs have used the knockout-stage window to add players: Manchester City added Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo to their 2025-26 Champions League squad once the club reached the knockout stages.
- Goalkeeper crises have driven clubs to consider List B options: Bayern Munich nearly needed to dip into List B goalkeepers after injuries to four registered keepers in the 2025-26 Champions League.

Source: BBC Sport Football