2025–26 UEFA Conference League
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The 2025-26 UEFA Conference League is here, Europe's third-tier club football tournament, now in its fifth exciting season. This year marks the second time we'll witness the expanded 36-team league phase, a format that brings even more drama and competition. And a significant change this season: no more transfers from the Europa League to the Conference League once the league phase begins. This means even the reigning champions, Chelsea, can't defend their title in the same way. They've already secured a spot in the Champions League via their domestic league, so their automatic Europa League berth isn't needed, leading to a rebalanced access list.
The grand finale? It's set to dazzle at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany. The victorious team will earn a coveted spot in the 2026-27 UEFA Europa League league phase, unless, of course, they've already qualified for the Champions League or Europa League through their stellar league performances.
Across Europe, a staggering 164 teams from 54 UEFA member associations are vying for glory. The number of teams each association sends is determined by their UEFA association coefficients, a measure of their European performance from 2019 to 2024. The top 12 associations get one spot each, while associations ranked 13 to 33, and 51 to 55 (excluding Russia), will have two teams competing. Associations 34 to 50 will send three teams, with Liechtenstein being the sole exception at one. Adding to the mix, 15 teams eliminated from the Champions League and 41 from the Europa League will join the Conference League fray.
The association ranking itself is based on the 2024 UEFA association coefficients, reflecting performance in European competitions from the 2019-20 to 2023-24 seasons. Beyond this core allocation, some associations might have additional teams entering, indicated by (UCL) for Champions League transfers or (UEL) for Europa League movements.
Now, let's talk distribution. This season's access list reflects the ongoing suspension of Russia in European football, leading to a few adjustments. The cup winners from associations 39 to 44 – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg, and Lithuania – will now enter the second qualifying round instead of the first. This shift also means one fewer loser from the Champions League first qualifying round will transfer to the Conference League's second qualifying round, granting one team a bye to the third round of the Champions Path.
Furthermore, with the Champions League titleholders, Paris Saint-Germain, already qualified through their league, and the Conference League champions, Chelsea, also securing a Champions League spot via their league position, further rebalancing has occurred. This impacts the Champions League access list, leading to fewer teams dropping into the Conference League's second qualifying round, and consequently, more teams receiving byes to the third qualifying round. For Chelsea's situation, the cup winner of Finland, association 34, will now enter the Europa League first qualifying round instead of the second. And the cup winners from Malta and Georgia, associations 45 and 46, will enter the second qualifying round instead of the first.
The teams themselves qualify through various routes: winning their domestic cup (CW), finishing in a specific league position (2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.), winning their league cup (LC), or being regular season champions (RW). Others emerge from end-of-season play-offs (PW), or are transferred from the Champions League (CL) or Europa League (EL) after being eliminated in various qualifying or play-off rounds (Q1, Q2, PO, CH/MP Q3).
This season, two teams not playing in a national top division will be part of the competition: Vaduz and Spaeri, both from the second tier.
The schedule is set with matches primarily on Thursdays, a special date of December 18th, and the final on a Wednesday, though Tuesdays or Wednesdays are possibilities due to scheduling conflicts.
We'll see the qualifying rounds unfold with draws for the first qualifying round on June 17th, 2025, followed by the first legs on July 8th and 10th, and second legs on July 16th and 17th. The second qualifying round draw is on June 18th, with first legs on July 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, and second legs on July 29th and 31st. The third qualifying round draw takes place on July 21st, with first legs on August 5th and 7th, and second legs on August 13th and 14th.
Then comes the play-off round, with a draw on August 4th, first legs on August 21st, and second legs on August 27th and 28th.
The league phase is where the real action intensifies, featuring 24 winners from the Conference League play-offs and 12 losers from the Europa League play-offs. The league phase draw for 2025-26 happens on August 29th in Monaco, with 36 teams divided into six pots based on their UEFA club coefficient. This draw, held alongside the Europa League draw, is entirely computer-generated, determining opponents and home/away fixtures in one go, revealed pot by pot. Each team faces one opponent from each of the six pots, with a mix of home and away matches. No team will face an opponent from their own association, and can only play a maximum of two sides from the same nation.
This season, Crystal Palace, Drita, Hamrun Spartans, KuPS, Rayo Vallecano, Samsunspor, Shelbourne, Shkëndija, Sigma Olomouc, and Universitatea Craiova make their debut in a major UEFA competition group or league phase. Notably, Hamrun Spartans become the first team from Malta to reach this stage. A total of 29 national associations will be represented, with Poland making history by having four clubs in the league phase for the first time ever in any UEFA competition.
In the league phase table, the top eight teams earn a direct pass to the round of 16. Teams ranked 9th to 24th will compete in the knockout phase play-offs, with the higher-ranked teams seeded. Those finishing 25th to 36th will be eliminated from European competition.
The knockout phase sees teams battle over two legs, home and away, except for the one-match final. The bracket is partially pre-determined by seeding, with league phase standings dictating positions. Country protection is out the window here, meaning teams from the same association can face each other at any stage, and even opponents they met in the league phase.
The draws for the knockout phase play-offs will be held on January 16th, 2026, with first legs on February 19th and second legs on February 26th. The round of 16 draw is on February 27th, with first legs on March 12th and second legs on March 19th. The quarter-finals will see first legs on April 9th and second legs on April 16th. The semi-finals are scheduled for April 30th for the first legs and May 7th for the second legs.
And finally, the grand final on May 27th, 2026, at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. The winner of semi-final 1 will be designated the "home" team for administrative purposes.
Statistics, excluding qualifying and play-off rounds, will be updated as of December 18th, 2025, and we'll be tracking the top goalscorers throughout the competition.
Stay tuned for all the drama, the upsets, and the glory in the 2025-26 UEFA Conference League!
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The 2025–26 UEFA Conference League is the fifth season of the UEFA Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA.
This is the second UEFA Conference League played under a new format involving a 36-team league phase. The new format also does not allow teams to transfer from the Europa League to the Conference League from the league phase onwards, and thus the Conference League titleholders (Chelsea) are unable to defend their title as the winner of the Conference League automatically qualifies for the Europa League league phase. However, Chelsea had already qualified for the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League league phase via their domestic league position prior to winning the Conference League, so the automatic berth in the Europa League was not required and the access list was rebalanced.
The final will be played at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany. The winners of the tournament will automatically qualify for the 2026–27 UEFA Europa League league phase, unless they qualify for the 2026–27 UEFA Champions League or Europa League through their league performance. In which case, the access list will be rebalanced.
== Association team allocation ==
A total of 164 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations are participating in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League. The association ranking based on the UEFA association coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:
Associations 1–12 each have one team.
Associations 13–33 and 51–55 (except Russia) each have two teams.
Associations 34–50 each have three teams (except Liechtenstein, which has one).
15 teams eliminated from the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League and 41 teams eliminated from the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League were transferred to the Conference League.
=== Association ranking ===
For the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2024 UEFA association coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2019–20 to 2023–24.
Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Conference League, as noted below:
(UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
(UEL) – Additional/vacated teams transferred from/to the UEFA Europa League
=== Distribution ===
The following is the access list for this season.
The information here reflects the ongoing suspension of Russia in European football, and so the following changes to the default access list were made:
The cup winners of associations 39 to 44 (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg and Lithuania) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
As a result of corresponding changes to the Champions League access list, there was one fewer loser from the Champions League first qualifying round transferred to the Conference League second qualifying round (Champions Path) so one transferred team received a bye to the third qualifying round (Champions Path).
As the Champions League title holders (Paris Saint-Germain) qualified for the Champions League via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the following changes to the default access list were made:
As a result of corresponding changes to the Champions League access list, there was one fewer loser from the Champions League first qualifying round (two fewer in total) transferred to the Conference League second qualifying round (Champions Path), so one transferred team (two in total) received a bye to the third qualifying round (Champions Path).
As the Conference League title holders (Chelsea) qualified for the Champions League phase via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the following changes to the default access list were made:
The cup winners of association 34 (Finland) entered the Europa League first qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
The cup winners of associations 45 (Malta) and 46 (Georgia) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
=== Teams ===
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
CW: Domestic cup winners
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position of the previous season
LC: League cup winners
RW: Regular season winners
PW: End-of-season Conference League play-offs winners
CL: Transferred from the Champions League
Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
EL: Transferred from the Europa League
PO: Losers from the play-off round
CH/MP Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round (Champions/Main Path)
Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round
Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round were divided into Champions Path (CH) and Main Path (MP).
Two teams not playing in a national top division took part in the competition: Vaduz (2nd tier) and Spaeri (2nd tier).
Notes
== Schedule ==
The schedule of the competition is as follows. Matches are scheduled for Thursdays, with an exclusive day of 18 December, apart from the final, which takes place on a Wednesday, though exceptionally can take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts.
== Qualifying rounds ==
=== First qualifying round ===
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 17 June 2025.
The first legs were played on 8 and 10 July, and the second legs were played on 16 and 17 July 2025.
The winners of the ties advanced to the second qualifying round.
=== Second qualifying round ===
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 18 June 2025.
The first legs were played on 22, 23 and 24 July, and the second legs were played on 29 and 31 July 2025.
The winners of the ties advanced to the third qualifying round.
=== Third qualifying round ===
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 21 July 2025.
The first legs were played on 5 and 7 August, and the second legs were played on 13 and 14 August 2025.
== Play-off round ==
The draw for the play-off round was held on 4 August 2025.
The first legs were played on 21 August, and the second legs were played on 27 and 28 August 2025.
== League phase ==
The Conference League league phase comprised the 24 winners of the Conference League play-off round, as well as 12 losers of the Europa League play-off round.
The league phase draw for the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League took place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 29 August 2025. The 36 teams were divided into six pots of six teams each based on their UEFA club coefficient.
The draw ceremony was held along with the league phase draw for the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League, as a change from the previous season. In the previous season's draw the 36 teams were manually drawn one at a time; this season's draw was entirely computer generated with all 36 teams' opponents and home/away locations drawn at once, but revealed pot by pot. Each team faced one opponent from each of the six pots, with one home and one away match from each pot pair of Pots 1 and 2, Pots 3 and 4, and Pots 5 and 6. Teams could not face opponents from their own association, and could only be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same association.
Crystal Palace, Drita, Hamrun Spartans, KuPS, Rayo Vallecano, Samsunspor, Shelbourne, Shkëndija, Sigma Olomouc and Universitatea Craiova made their debut appearances in a major UEFA competition group or league phase. Hamrun Spartans were the first team from Malta to play in a major UEFA competition group stage or league phase.
A total of 29 national associations were represented in the league phase. Poland were the first country to have four clubs play in the Conference League group stage/league phase, and it was also the first time in history that four Polish clubs competed in any edition of a UEFA competition group stage or league phase.
=== Table ===
The top eight ranked teams received a bye to the round of 16. The teams ranked from 9th to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the teams ranked from 9th to 16th seeded for the draw. Teams ranked from 25th to 36th were eliminated from European competition.
=== Results ===
== Knockout phase ==
In the knockout phase, teams will play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The bracket structure for the knockout phase is partially fixed in advance using seeding, with teams' positions in the bracket determined by the final standings in the league phase.
In the knockout phase, there is no country protection, with teams from the same association able to face each other in any round. Teams can also face opponents they played during the league phase.
The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:
In the draw for the knockout phase play-offs, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 9–16 will be seeded, and the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 17–24 will be unseeded. The draw will be split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams will host the second leg.
In the draw for the round of 16, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 1–8 will be seeded, and the eight winners of the knockout phase play-offs will be unseeded. Again, the draw will be split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams will host the second leg.
In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the exact match pairings and order of legs were predetermined based on the tournament bracket. The higher-seeded teams, assuming they advance, will play the second leg of each round at home. Should a seeded team be beaten, the team that eliminates them will assume their seeding position. The winner of semi-final 1 will be designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it is played at a neutral venue).
=== Bracket ===
=== Knockout phase play-offs ===
The draw for the knockout phase play-offs will be held on 16 January 2026.
The first legs will be played on 19 February, and the second legs will be played on 26 February 2026.
=== Round of 16 ===
The draw for the round of 16 will be held on 27 February 2026.
The first legs will be played on 12 March, and the second legs will be played on 19 March 2026.
=== Quarter-finals ===
The first legs will be played on 9 April, and the second legs will be played on 16 April 2026.
=== Semi-finals ===
The first legs will be played on 30 April, and the second legs will be played on 7 May 2026.
=== Final ===
The final will be played on 27 May 2026 at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. The winner of semi-final 1 was designated as the "home" team for administrative purposes.
== Statistics ==
Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.
Table correct as of 18 December 2025.
=== Top goalscorers ===
== See also ==
2025–26 UEFA Champions League
2025–26 UEFA Europa League
2026 UEFA Super Cup
2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League
2025–26 UEFA Women's Europa Cup
2025–26 UEFA Youth League
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
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