Ex-Ghana and Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has been named as a special guest for the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw on Thursday.
Essien affectionately called 'The Bisom'Â is part of the two former Chelsea players selected by UEFA to assist in determining the groups for the tournament.
The 38-year-old will be joined by former Serbian International Branislav Ivanović as UEFA's special guests for the draw.
The draw ceremony will be held on Thursday, August 26 at 4:00 pm in Istanbul, Turkey.
"The 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony begins at 18:00 CET on Thursday 26 August. It is being held in Istanbul, Turkey and will be streamed live on UEFA.com. Special guests Branislav Ivanović and Michael Essien will assist with the draw," a UEFA statement said.
32 participating sides will discover their group stage opposition in a gala event where a series of Player and Coach of the Year awards will also be presented tomorrow.
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29 teams have already confirmed their place in Thursday's draw with the final three places set to be confirmed via the final set of play-off games on Wednesday evening.
The 29 names in Thursday's draw are:Â
Spain: Atlético de Madrid, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Villarreal (UEFA UEL Winners)
England: Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea
Germany: Bayern, RB Leipzig, Dortmund, Wolfsburg
Italy: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Atalanta, Juventus
France: LOSC Lille, Paris Saint-Germain
Portugal: Sporting CP, Porto, Benfica
Russia:Â Zenit
Belgium: Club Brugge
Ukraine: Dynamo Kyiv
Netherlands:Ajax
Turkey:Â BeÅŸiktaÅŸ
Switzerland:Â Young Boys
Sweden:Â Malmo
The group stage matches will take place from September 14.
How does the competition work?
The top two teams from each group will advance to the last-16 knockout stage.
Teams finishing third in each group will drop down to the Europa League last-16 stage, where they will face the runners-up from the Europa League groups.
This year's Champions League final takes place at the St Petersburg Stadium in Russia on Saturday, 28 May.
The 2021/22 Champions League will be the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organized by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
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