The UEFA Conference League (previously known as the UEFA Europa Conference League), abbreviated as UECL,[1] is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the third tier of continental club football in Europe, behind the second-tier Europa League, and the first-tier Champions League.
Introduced in 2021 as the UEFA Europa Conference League, the competition was initially intended as the bottom level of the Europa League. The competition is primarily contested by teams from lower-ranked UEFA member associations.[2] No teams qualify directly for the league phase: instead the teams eliminated in the Europa League play-off round qualify, with the rest coming from the Conference League qualifying and play-off rounds. The winners of the competition qualify for the following season's Europa League, unless they also qualify for the Champions League via their domestic league position.[3]
From the 2024–25 season, the competition was rebranded to the UEFA Conference League, and the group stage was replaced with an expanded league phase.
Roma were the inaugural winners of the competition, having beaten Feyenoord 1–0 in the 2022 final. The current holder of the title is Olympiacos.
The UEFA Europa Conference League trophy on display in Rome
UEFA had reportedly considered adding a third-tier competition since at least 2015, believing that a bottom-level tournament could act as a means of giving clubs from lower-ranked UEFA member countries a chance of progressing beyond their customary elimination from the Champions League and Europa League.[4] In mid-2018, talk of an announcement intensified, with news sources claiming an agreement had already been reached for the competition to be launched and that the 48-team Europa League group stage would be split in two, with the lower half forming the nucleus of what would be the new event.[5]
On 2 December 2018, UEFA announced that the competition – provisionally known as "Europa League 2" or just "UEL2" – was to be launched as part of the 2021–24 three-year competition cycle, with UEFA adding that the new tournament would bring "more matches for more clubs and more associations".[3]
The original official name of the competition, "UEFA Europa Conference League", was announced on 24 September 2019.[6]
On 24 May 2021, UEFA revealed the competition's trophy and brand identity. The Europa Conference League Trophy stands 57.5 cm (22.6 in) tall and weighs 11 kg (24 lb).[7]
The first goal in the then-named Europa Conference League qualifiers was scored on 6 July 2021 by Mosta player Evo Chris in a 2021–22 qualifying round match against Spartak Trnava.[8] The first goal in the then-named Europa Conference League group stage was scored on 14 September 2021 by Maccabi Tel Aviv player Stipe Perica in a 2021–22 group stage match against Alashkert.[9] On 30 September 2021, the competition's first hat-trick was scored by Harry Kane for Tottenham Hotspur in a group stage match against NS Mura. Kane came on as a 59th minute substitute at 2–1 before scoring three goals within 20 minutes of each other to finish off the game (5–1).[10]
On 5 May 2022, Feyenoord and Roma became the first teams ever to reach the Europa Conference League final, ending with Roma being crowned the inaugural champions.[11]
On 3 November 2022, West Ham United became the first side to win all six of their Europa Conference League group stage matches, picking up wins against FCSB, Silkeborg and Anderlecht.[12] They went on to win the competition by defeating Fiorentina 2–1 in the 2023 final, in the process becoming the first side to finish the competition undefeated, with 12 wins and one draw.
On 28 June 2023, UEFA announced that the competition would be renamed to the UEFA Conference League from the 2024–25 season onwards. According to UEFA, removing 'Europa' from the name of the competition would enable further development as a stand-alone competition in their research amongst fans and commercial partners.[13][14] In the same season, the 32-team group stage was replaced with a 36-team league phase, in line with similar changes made to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
In the 2024 final, Olympiacos beat Fiorentina 1–0, becoming the first Greek club to win a major European competition.[15]
The Conference League trophy, designed by Pentagram, is made from brass, with galvanic steel and silver plating. It features 32 hexagonal columns, to represent the 32 teams in the original group stage, curving upwards in a manner intended to resemble a football curling through the air towards the goal.[16]
A map of UEFA associations whose teams have reached the league phase or group stage of the UEFA Conference League
UEFA member association that has been represented in the league phase or group stage
UEFA member association that has not been represented in the league phase or group stage
Similar to the UEFA Champions League, qualification to the Conference League is split into two paths – separating champions and non-champions – and contains three rounds plus a play-off.[17] However, unlike the Champions League, the Champions Path will only be contested by teams eliminated from Champions League qualifying and consequently relegated either directly into the Conference League[note 1] or via a second relegation from the UEFA Europa League as a result of two straight eliminations.[note 2][17]
The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams in main path qualification for each association:[note 3][17]
Based on this reorganisation, no association benefits from more berths to continental football than they had before the 2021–24 competition cycle, with the tournament essentially being the lower orders of the previous Europa League tournament split off into a secondary tournament.
League phase and knockout phase
The format involves a league phase and a knockout phase consisting of preliminary knockout play-offs, followed by a round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (all of the knockout games except the final are played over two legs). The top eight teams from the league phase receive a bye to the round of 16, while the teams ranked 9th to 24th contest the knockout play-offs with the winners advancing to the round of 16. The teams ranked 25th to 36th in the league phase and the losers of the play-offs are eliminated from the competition.[18]
The final is played at a neutral venue. The winner of the competition is entitled to participate in the UEFA Europa League league phase the following season. The competition's matches are usually played on Thursdays.[3]
Distribution (from 2021–22 to 2023–24)
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 Europa League, and will define its remaining entrants by their league position in the previous year. England allocates its lowest-ranked qualification place to the winners of the EFL Cup or, if they already qualified for the Champions League or Europa League, to the sixth or seventh placed in the Premier League.
Teams entering this round
Teams advancing from the previous round
Teams transferred from the Champions League
Teams transferred from the Europa League
First qualifying round (72 teams)
26 domestic cup winners from associations 30–55
25 domestic league runners-up from associations 30–55 (except Liechtenstein)
21 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 29–50 (except Liechtenstein)
Second qualifying round
Champions (20 teams)
17 teams eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
3 teams eliminated from Champions League preliminary round
Non-champions (90 teams)
14 domestic cup winners from associations 16–29
14 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–29
16 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–28
9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 6
36 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Champions (10 teams)
10 winners from the second qualifying round for champions
Non-champions (52 teams)
6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
45 winners from the second qualifying round for non-champions
Play-off round
Champions (10 teams)
5 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
5 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round for champions
Non-champions (34 teams)
1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 5
4 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–4 (EFL Cup winners for England)
26 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions
3 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round for non-champions
Group stage (32 teams)
5 winners from the play-off round for champions
17 winners from the play-off round for non-champions
10 teams eliminated from Europa League play-off round
Preliminary knockout round (16 teams)
8 group runners-up from the group stage
8 group third-placed teams from Europa League group stage
Knockout phase (16 teams)
8 group winners from the group stage
8 winners from the preliminary knockout round
Distribution (from 2024–25)
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2024)
21 domestic league runners-up from associations 34–55 (except Liechtenstein)
20 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 30–50 (except Liechtenstein)
Second qualifying round
Champions (16 teams)
16 teams eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
Non-champions (88 teams)
5 domestic cup winners from associations 34–38
18 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–33
17 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–29
9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 6
29 winners from the first qualifying round
9 teams eliminated from Europa League first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Champions (8 teams)
8 winners from the second qualifying round for champions
Non-champions (52 teams)
44 winners from the second qualifying round for non-champions
8 teams eliminated from Europa League second qualifying round
Play-off round
Champions (10 teams)
4 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
6 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round for champions
Non-champions (38 teams)
5 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–5 (EFL Cup winners for England)
26 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions
7 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round for non-champions
League phase (36 teams)
5 winners from the play-off round for champions
19 winners from the play-off round for non-champions
12 teams eliminated from Europa League play-off round
Changes will be made to the access list above if the Conference League title holder qualifies for the tournament via their domestic leagues.
If the Conference League title holders qualify for the league phase via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the best-ranked club in the qualifying rounds enter the league phase, without leapfrogging, then clubs of associations in the UEFA coefficient ranking are promoted to later qualifying rounds, and teams of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds are also promoted accordingly.
If the Conference League title holders qualify for the qualifying rounds via their domestic league, their spot in the qualifying rounds is vacated, and teams of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds are promoted accordingly.
Prize money
Similar to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, the prize money received by the clubs is divided into fixed payments based on participation and results, and variable amounts that depend on the value of their TV market.[20]
For the 2024–25 season, League Phase participation in the Conference League was awarded a base fee of €3,170,000. A victory in the group pays €400,000 and a draw €133,000. Teams which placed in the top 8 of the League Phase earned €400,000 and progressed automatically to the Round of 16. Teams which placed between 9th and 24th qualified for the knockout round play-offs and earned €200,000. Reaching the knock-out stage triggered additional bonuses: €800,000 for the round of 16, €1,300,000 for the quarter-finals and €2,500,000 for the semi-finals. The losing finalists received €4,000,000 and the champions received €7,000,000.[21]
First qualifying round elimination: €150,000 + €175,000 per qualifying round played
Second qualifying round elimination: €350,000 + €175,000 per qualifying round played
Third qualifying round elimination: €550,000 + €175,000 per qualifying round played
Play-off round elimination: €750,000 + €175,000 per qualifying round played
Qualified to League Phase: €3,170,000
Match won in League Phase: €400,000
Match drawn in League Phase: €133,000
1st–8th in League Phase: €400,000
9th–24th in League Phase: €200,000
Round of 16: €800,000
Quarter-final: €1,300,000
Semi-final: €2,500,000
Runner-up: €4,000,000
Champion: €7,000,000
Additionally, each domestic champion not qualifying for the League Phase of any tournament received an additional €260,000.
Each club which qualifies for the League Phase will also receive a bonus payment based on their league ranking. The total amount initially available for the league ranking bonus is €18,648,000 divided into 666 equal shares of €28,000. As €400,000 is available for each match played in the league phase, for every draw in the League Phase, €133,000 is unallocated and is added to the total league ranking bonus fund, increasing the value of each share. The team that finishes 1st in the League Phase receives 36 shares, with the amount of shares received falling by 1 for each subsequent position, with the 36th place team receiving a single share.
Starting from the first edition of the competition, UEFA introduced an award that will presumably now be called the UEFA Conference League Player of the Season award, having previously been the UEFA Europa Conference League Player of the Season award prior to the renaming of the league.
The jury is composed of the coaches of the clubs which participate in the league phase (group stage prior to 2024-25 season) of the competition, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from each UEFA member association.
Pellegrini, the first winner of the Player of the Season award in 2022
Winners
Season
Player
Club
UEFA Europa Conference League Player of the Season
In the same season, UEFA also introduced what will likely now be called the UEFA Conference League Young Player of the Season award (previously the UEFA Europa Conference League Young Player of the Season').
Winners
Season
Player
Club
UEFA Europa Conference League Young Player of the Season
^From Champions League first qualifying round to Conference League second qualifying round.
^From Champions League second qualifying round to Europa League third qualifying round, and then to Conference League play-off round.
^Excluding three relegations from Europa League third qualifying round out of five runners-up from associations 10–15 and three cup winners from associations 13–15.
^ abc"UEL2 Access List 2021–24"(PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2018. Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
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