The Main Path features 5 automatic entrants, 27 third qualifying round Main Path winners and two teams eliminated from UEFA Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path). The ten sides in the Champions Path play each other over two legs. The five winning sides advance to the group stage.
All qualification berths are based on UEFA's default assumption that each association will submit one domestic cup winner as its highest-ranked qualifier after those eligible to enter the Champions League, and will define its remaining entrants by their league position in the previous year.
It is the Portuguese word for Flemish, and it was given to the nearby beach (Praia do Flamengo, Beach of the Flemish) because it was the place where the Dutch sailor Olivier van Noort tried to invade the city in 1599.