Roma have qualified for the Champions League for the first time since the 2018–19 season, secured by finishing third in Serie A last year. Supporters have responded immediately: from 19 August, when subscriptions for European competition entered open sale, the club has sold more than 35,000 season tickets. The official website initially struggled to manage a queue of over 25,000 visitors. Fans purchased subscriptions before even learning their opponents, driven by an appetite for European football that has lasted since the 2018–19 campaign ended in the last 16 against Porto.
The financial windfall is substantial. UEFA will distribute nearly €2.5 billion across the 36 clubs in the 2026–27 league-phase format, guaranteeing each participant €18.62 million as a baseline. Clubs earn an additional €2.1 million for each victory and €700,000 for each draw, plus bonuses for advancing through the knockout stages; qualification to the last 16 alone would bring Roma a further €11 million. The competition also feeds wider commercial activity—television visibility, sponsorship deals, and regulated gaming revenue—and underpins plans for a new 60,000-capacity stadium at Pietralata, which recently cleared a key environmental assessment stage at the municipality.
A reserved subscription window for season-ticket holders opened 12 August and sold out within weeks. The remaining capacity was offered to all buyers from 19 August onward, and initial fan resistance over pricing did not dampen demand. The first Serie A fixture against Fiorentina is already completely sold out at the Olimpico. Roma's last Champions League match at home came on 12 February 2019, when Zaniolo scored twice in a 2–1 victory over Porto. The league phase will run over eight matchdays, four at home, with the full fixture list to follow the official draw.
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Roma will discover their Champions League fixture schedule and kick-off times today, marking the club's return to Europe's elite competition for the first time in over seven years following their third-place finish in Serie A last season. Matches in the new league-phase format will run from 8–10 September through 27 January, with Roma hosting Real Madrid, Sporting Lisbona, Lille and Slovan Bratislava at the Olimpico. However, ticket availability will be severely constrained: 40,000 supporters have already secured the European cup subscription package, leaving fewer than 20,000 seats available across other sections at prices expected to be prohibitively expensive. Season ticket holders for Serie A will have first refusal for friends and family through the PNR system, with full ticket sale terms to be published in the coming days.
Italian radio pundits have offered mixed assessments of Roma's path in the competition. Carina suggested on Radio Radio Mattino that the draw "could have gone better," noting that Sporting Lisbon presents a difficult challenge. Pruzzo echoed the sentiment that Roma face "a tough" Champions League journey against teams of "reasonably good standard," while expressing doubts about midfielder Kessié's ability to perform in Serie A. Roma News also reports the club has "put El Aynaoui on the market." Damascelli offered a more optimistic perspective, calling Roma's campaign "a fascinating journey" and highlighting the appeal of facing Real Madrid, "the most winning team in the world."
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Testo Originale / Source Text
“Sette anni dopo l'ultima volta, la Roma ritrova la Champions League. I tifosi hanno risposto subito. Dal 19 agosto gli abbonamenti
Sette anni dopo l’ultima volta, la Roma ritrova la Champions League. I tifosi hanno risposto subito. Dal 19 agosto gli abbonamenti per le coppe sono in vendita libera,…”
Read the full article in Italian at Roma News.
