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On this site you will find everything about the calculation of coefficients and rankings used for the qualification and seeding of clubs for the Champions League, the Europa League, and the Conference League.
The following general information is available: database with all results and rankings, detailed description of the method of calculation, graphs of ranking data, news for a selection of published articles, links to other football sites, forum for discussions on European Cup football, search for match results, history with formats in previous years, and an overview with all clubs participating in European Cups since 1955.
Specific data for the qualification of clubs and formats of the Champions League, the Europa League, and the Conference League for the 2024/25 season can be found at the pages below.
- Access list 2024/25 (see also qualifying scheme and rebalancing methods)
- Qualification 2024/25 (list of clubs per country)
- Seeding Champions League 2024/25
- Seeding Europa League 2024/25
- Seeding Conference League 2024/25
- Calendar 2024/25
The format of all 3 UEFA European club competitions is changed from season 2024/25 onwards. The qualifying format remains more or less the same, but more clubs enter the Europa League qualifying rounds then in previous seasons. The new league stage consists of 36 clubs in one group, and the matches in the league stage are no longer in an home/away format. Before the draw clubs are divided into 4 pots based on their ranking, and each club plays an home and away match against different clubs of each pot. In the Conference League there are 6 pots and each club plays one match against a club of each pot.
After the league stage the competitions continue in a knockout stage with the usual home/away matches. The top-8 clubs of each league qualify for the round of 16, and the clubs at rank 9-24 have to play an extra play-off round for the knockout stage. Clubs below rank 24 in the league stage and losers of the knockout stage play-off round are out of competition.
Champions League
The Champions League is the most prestigious club competition in European football. The
champions of all countries in Europe enter the Champions League, but high ranked countries
can send more clubs. There are 36 clubs in the league stage, which is preceded by four
qualifying stages. The last qualifying round is called the play-off round for the league
stage. Some clubs of high ranked countries are directly qualified for the league stage,
while others have to play qualifying rounds.
The access list is rebalanced if the title holder spots are not used. For details see Access list, qualifying scheme and rebalancing methods. The table below shows the initial format without rebalancing
| CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st Qualifying Round | July | 32 champions from countries ranked 23-55 |
| 2nd Qualifying Round | July |
Champions path with 24 clubs 16 winners from 1st qualifying round 8 champions from countries ranked 15-22 Non-Champions or League path with 6 clubs 6 second-placed clubs from countries ranked 10-15 |
| 3rd Qualifying Round | August |
Champions path with 12 clubs 12 winners from 2nd qualifying round Non-Champions or League path with 8 clubs 3 winners from 2nd qualifying round 3 second-placed clubs from countries ranked 7-9 1 third-placed club from country ranked 6 1 fourth-placed club from country ranked 5 |
| Play-off round | August |
Champions path with 10 clubs 6 winners from 3rd qualifying round 4 champions from countries ranked 11-14 Non-Champions or League path with 4 clubs 4 winners from 3rd qualifying round |
|
League Stage 1 group of 36 clubs | Sep-Jan |
7 winners from play-off round 10 champions from countries ranked 1-10 6 second-placed clubs from countries ranked 1-6 5 third-placed clubs from countries ranked 1-5 4 fourth-placed clubs from countries ranked 1-4 1 Champions League title holder 1 Europa League title holder 2 EPS clubs (European Performance Spot) |
| Knockout stage play-offs | February |
8 clubs ranked 9-16 in the league stage 8 clubs ranked 17-24 in the league stage |
|
Knockout stage round of 16, quarter final, semi final, and final | Mar-May |
8 clubs ranked 1-8 in the league stage and 8 winners of the knockout stage play-off round |
See the Regulations of the Champions League 2024/25 (pdf or online), for a complete and formal description of all regulations.
Europa League
The Europa League is a competition for the cup winners of the top-33 countries and one
additional club from the top-12 countries, and clubs that failed to qualify in the
Champions League. There are 36 clubs in the league stage, which is preceded by four
qualifying stages. The last qualifying round is called the play-off round for the league
stage. Some clubs of high ranked countries are directly qualified for the league stage,
while others have to play qualifying rounds.
The access list is rebalanced if the title holder spots are not used. For details see Access list, qualifying scheme and rebalancing methods. The table below shows the initial format without rebalancing
| EUROPA LEAGUE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st Qualifying Round | July | 18 cup winners from countries ranked 16-33 |
|
2nd Qualifying Round 16 clubs | July |
9 winners from 1st qualifying round 6 third-placed clubs from countries ranked 7-12 1 fourth-placed club from country ranked 6 |
| 3rd Qualifying Round | August |
League path with 14 clubs 3 cup winners from countries ranked 13-15 8 winners from 2nd qualifying round 3 losers of the Non-Champions path of the Champions League 2nd qualifying round Champions path with 12 clubs 12 losers of the Champions League 2nd qualifying round |
|
Play-off round 24 clubs | August |
5 cup winners from countries ranked 8-12 7 winners from 3rd qualifying round League path 6 winners from 3rd qualifying round Champions path 6 losing champions of the Champions League 3rd qualifying round |
|
League Stage 1 group of 36 clubs | Sep-Jan |
12 winners from play-off round 7 cup winners from countries ranked 1-7 5 fifth-placed clubs from countries ranked 1-5 4 losers of the Non-Champions path of the Champions League 3rd qualifying round 5 losing champions of the Champions League play-off round 2 losers of the Non-Champions path of the Champions League play-off round 1 Conference League title holder |
| Knockout stage play-offs | February |
8 clubs ranked 9-16 in the league stage 8 clubs ranked 17-24 in the league stage |
|
Knockout stage round of 16, quarter final, semi final, and final | Mar-May |
8 clubs ranked 1-8 in the league stage and 8 winners of the knockout stage play-off round |
See the Regulations of the Europa League 2024/25 (pdf or online) for a complete and formal description of all regulations.
Conference League
The Conference League is a competition for the cup winners of countries ranked 34 and
below and high-placed clubs in the domestic league of each country. The number of clubs is
depending on the country ranking and the majority of the clubs are from the lower-ranked
countries. There are 36 clubs in the league stage, which is preceded by four qualifying
stages. All clubs have to play qualifying matches (12 clubs enter the league stage as
losers of the Europa League play-off round). The last qualifying round is called the
play-off round for the league stage. The winners of the Conference League have direct
access to next year's Europa League league stage.
The access list is rebalanced if the title holder spots are not used. For details see Access list, qualifying scheme and rebalancing methods. The table below shows the initial format without rebalancing
| CONFERENCE LEAGUE | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1st Qualifying Round 58 clubs | July |
17 cup winners from countries ranked 39-55 21 second-placed clubs from countries ranked 35-55 20 third-placed clubs from countries ranked 30-50 |
| 2nd Qualifying Round | July |
League path with 88 clubs 5 cup winners from countries ranked 34-38 18 second-placed clubs from countries ranked 16-33 17 third-placed clubs from countries ranked 13-29 9 fourth-placed clubs from countries ranked 7-15 1 fifth-placed clubs from country ranked 6 Champions path with 16 clubs 16 losers from Champions League 1st qualifying round |
| 3rd Qualifying Round | August |
League path with 52 clubs 44 winners from 2nd qualifying round 8 losers from Europa League 2nd qualifying round Champions path with 8 clubs 8 winners from 2nd qualifying round Champions path |
| Play-off round | August |
League path with 38 clubs 5 fifth-placed clubs from countries ranked 1-5 26 winners from 3rd qualifying round 7 losers from Europa League 3rd qualifying round Champions path with 10 clubs 4 winners from 3rd qualifying round Champions path 6 losers from Europa League 3rd qualifying round Champions path |
|
League Stage 1 group of 36 clubs | Sep-Dec |
19 winners from play-off round 5 winners from play-off round Champions path 12 losers from Europa League play-off round |
| Knockout stage play-offs | February |
8 clubs ranked 9-16 in the league stage 8 clubs ranked 17-24 in the league stage |
|
Knockout stage round of 16, quarter final, semi final, and final | Mar-May |
8 clubs ranked 1-8 in the league stage and 8 winners of the knockout stage play-off round |
Depending on the use of the title holder spots in the Champions League and Europa League the access list for the Conference League might need to be adapted. If so then priority is given to cup winners in that round. See Access list and qualifying scheme for all details, and wikipedia for more general info.
See the Regulations of the Conference League 2024/25 (pdf or online) for a complete and formal description of all regulations.
| Bert Kassies | [ main : kassiesa.net ] , [ backup ] | bert@kassiesa.net |