As one of the most widely loved pastimes across the country, football holds a special place in Danish society. It was in 1992 that Denmark shocked the football world by winning the European Championship with their national team. However, by comparison, Danish football league clubs have experienced only modest success on the European stage. But this season, two of Denmark’s biggest clubs will be hoping to change that as they undertake a European adventure.
An exciting season lies ahead in Europe for F.C. København (F.C. Copenhagen) and FC Midtjylland, who have qualified for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, respectively.
With the Champions League and Europa League being the top two tournaments in European club football, the focus will be huge on these two teams this coming season as they navigate through some tough and exciting European matches in the hope of glory!
The road to European football this season has proven tough, as Danish teams are required to win three qualifying rounds to reach the league stage of each tournament. With each round being played over two legs (home and away), that’s six games before even reaching the main stage of each competition, so it is really a feat to make it all the way. F.C. København were eligible to enter the Champions League qualifying rounds as a result of winning the Danish Superliga (the highest professional football league in Denmark) last season, and FC Midtjylland were eligible to enter the Europa League qualifying rounds due to finishing second in the same league. It is hugely beneficial to the clubs from a financial perspective to make it to these tournaments, especially the Champions League, where F.C. København can expect to receive around 18 million euros, or the equivalent of almost 140 million kroner, for reaching the tournament. By progressing further in the tournament, the financial rewards will only increase. For the Danish clubs, who generally have less funds at their disposal than many of their European counterparts, this is a valuable cash injection, which they can use to sign better players, improve infrastructure, and secure the future of the club.
In their qualification games, F.C. København managed to overcome FC Drita (XK), Malmö FF (SE), and FC Basel (CH), with the standout result being the 5-0 win at home over rivals Malmö FF in the Öresund Bridge Derby (this was also, interestingly, the shortest international trip in Champions League history, with the distance between the clubs being only 28 km).
FC Midtjylland had a slightly easier and straightforward qualification route on their way to the Europa League, yet still overcame Hibernian F.C. (UK), Fredrikstad FK (NO) and KuPS (FI), to make it to the first stage of the tournament.
Brøndby IF and Silkeborg IF, the other two Danish teams vying for qualification for European competitions, were unfortunately not as successful and did not make it through the qualification rounds. Brøndby IF, one of the most widely supported clubs in Denmark, came close to qualifying for the Europa Conference League (the third-tier European competition); however, they were handed a difficult draw against RC Strasbourg, top-tier French opposition, and fell short in the final match, losing 3-2 at home.
On Thursday 28th August, the draw was made to see who each team will be playing, and it has thrown up some exciting matchups for the Danish teams. Both competitions start with a league format of 36 teams, with each team playing eight matches (four home, four away), with the top 24 teams moving to the next round.
F.C. København will play: Borussia Dortmund (DE); Napoli (IT); Bayer Leverkusen (DE); and Kairat Almaty (KZ) at their home stadium Parken, in Østerbro, Copenhagen. They will play Barcelona (ES), Tottenham Hotspur (UK), Qarabag FK (AZ), and Villarreal (ES) away from home.
FC Midtjylland will play; Sturm Graz (AT), Celtic (UK), Genk (BE), and GNK Dinamo (HR), at their home stadium, the MCH Arena in Herning. They will play Nottingham Forest (UK), Maccabi Tel-Aviv (IL), Roma (IT), and Brann (NO) away from home.
F.C. København play at the country’s national stadium, “Parken” (translated: The Park). The club was formed in 1992 when two of the capital city’s biggest clubs, B1903 and KB, merged. They have gone on to become the most successful club in Denmark, winning a record 16 Danish Superliga titles. After qualifying for three of the past four Champions League competitions, and making it to the round of 16 in 2024 (famously beating Manchester United 4-3 along the way), they will be hoping to build on their recent success in Europe.
Founded in 1999, FC Midtjylland are based in central Jutland and regularly challenge F.C. København for the Danish Superliga title, which they have won four times, most recently in 2024. Like F.C. København, they were also born from a merger of two clubs (Ikast FS and Herning Fremad), with the idea of creating a stronger regional club representing central Jutland.
With a wide variety of teams from different countries across Europe involved, this is a great chance to watch some of the best teams in Europe take on Danish opposition on Danish soil.
Tickets for some of these games might be hard to come by, given the huge demand. Ticket packages for F.C København’s matches are already on sale for members, with more tickets to be released before each match, and FC Midtjylland will also be opening sales for their matches soon, so keep an eye on the respective teams’ online ticket shops, and you might just be able to secure a ticket! Otherwise, you can catch the games on paid streaming services, or down your local sports bar or bodega with the rest of us fans.
