The draw for the third qualifying round of the 2026/27 Champions League took place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Among the clubs, Almaty's Kairat learned their potential opponents, according to infohub.kz.
If the Kazakh champions, who began qualifying with wins over Montenegro's Sutjeska (2-1 and 2-0), get past Cyprus's Omonia, they will face either Bulgarian club Levski Sofia or Romanian side Universitatea Craiova.
The matches against the Cypriot side will take place on July 22 in Nicosia and July 29 in Almaty. The third round games are scheduled for August 5 and 12. Kairat will again be away in the first leg.
To qualify for the Champions League group stage again, as they did in the 2025/26 season, Kairat must get through three more qualifying rounds. Twenty-nine teams automatically advance to the league phase, while seven more will be decided through qualifying, which ends with the play-off round in August. Some teams eliminated at various qualifying stages will continue in the Europa League or Conference League qualifying.
If Kairat fail to beat Omonia, they will drop into the third qualifying round of the Europa League. Their potential opponents there will be determined on the same day.
The Champions League league phase matches will be played from September 8 to January 27 next year. The 2026/27 Champions League final will take place on June 5, 2027, at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid. The current trophy holder, Paris Saint-Germain of France, defeated Arsenal of England on penalties in the final on May 30 in Budapest.