The 10 losers of the play-off round entered the group stage.
Below were the participating teams (with their 2023 UEFA club coefficients, not to be used as seeding for qualifying phase and play-off round, however),[3] grouped by their starting rounds.
CH Q3 Losers of Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path).
CH Q2 Losers of Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path).
LP Q2 Losers of Champions League second qualifying round (League Path).
Format
Each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time was played, and if the same number of goals was scored by both teams during extra time, the tie was decided by a penalty shoot-out.[4]
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows.[1][5] Matches were scheduled for Thursdays, though exceptionally could take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Schedule for the qualifying phase of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League
Round
Draw date
First leg
Second leg
Third qualifying round
24 July 2023
10 August 2023
17 August 2023
Play-off round
7 August 2023
24 August 2023
31 August 2023
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 24 July 2023.
Seeding
A total of 14 teams played in the qualifying round. They were divided into two paths:
Champions Path (10 teams): 10 losers of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path), whose identity was not known at the time of draw. There was no seeding.
Main Path (4 teams): The teams were seeded as follows:
Seeded: 2 teams which entered in this round.
Unseeded: 2 losers of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round (League Path), whose identity was not known at the time of draw.
Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team of the first leg.
Since Olympiacos could not be drawn against Panathinaikos, they were drawn against the loser of the Servette/Genk match, and Slavia Prague were drawn against the loser of the Dnipro-1/Panathinaikos match.
† Losers of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 8 and 10 August, and the second legs were played on 17 August 2023.
The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round. The losers were transferred to the Europa Conference League play-off round of their respective path.
The draw for the play-off round was held on 7 August 2023.
Seeding
A total of 20 teams played in the play-off round. The teams were seeded into four "priority groups":
Priority 1: The 6 teams from the higher ranking association which entered in this round
Priority 2: 6 losers of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path), whose identity was not known at the time of the draw
Priority 3: 5 winners of the third qualifying round (Champions Path), whose identity was not known at the time of the draw
Priority 4: The remaining team which entered in this round and 2 winners of the third qualifying round (Main Path), whose identity was not known at the time of the draw
The procedure of the draw was as follows:
Three teams from Pot 1 (Priority 1) were paired with the three teams in Pot 4 (Priority 4).
The three remaining Pot 1 (Priority 1) teams would then be paired with teams from Pot 3 (Priority 3).
The two remaining Pot 3 (Priority 3) teams work would then be paired with teams from Pot 2 (Priority 2).
The four remaining Pot 2 (Priority 2) balls were then drawn one after another to complete the ninth and tenth pairings (open draw).
Association protection was not applied. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team of the first leg.
^ abDue to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[33]
^Čukarički played their home match at the Dubočica Stadium in Leskovac, instead of their regular stadium, Čukarički Stadium, in Belgrade, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^Union Saint-Gilloise played their home match at Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels, instead of their regular stadium, Joseph Marien Stadium, Brussels, which did not meet UEFA requirements.[44]
^Lugano played their home match at the Stade de Genève in Geneva, instead of their regular stadium, the Cornaredo Stadium in Lugano, which did not meet UEFA requirements.[44]
^KÍ played their home match at the Tórsvøllur in Tórshavn, instead of their regular stadium, Við Djúpumýrar, in Klaksvík, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
Note: Between the 1999–2000 and 2008–09 seasons, the competition was still known as the UEFA Cup. All seasons are included following the competition's absorption of the Cup Winners' Cup.