2024–25 UEFA Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round
The 2024–25 UEFA Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round will begin on 11 July and end on 29 August 2023.[1]
A total of 155 teams will compete in the qualifying system of the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League, which includes the qualifying phase and the play-off round, with 21 teams in the Champions Path and 134 teams in the Main Path. The 24 winners of the play-off round advanced to the league stage, to join the 12 losers of the Europa League play-off round.[2]
Format[edit]
The qualifying phase and play-off round is split into two paths – the Champions Path and the Main Path. The Champions Path contains teams which were eliminated from the Champions League Champions Path and the Europa League Champions Path and the Main Path contains teams which qualify through their domestic league or as domestic cup winners as well as teams eliminated from Europa League Main Path.
Each tie will be played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs will advance to the next round. If the aggregate score is level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time will be played, and if the same number of goals is scored by both teams during extra time, the tie will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.[3]
In the draws for each round in the Main Path, teams will be seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round may not known at the time of the draws, the seeding will be carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advances to the subsequent round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient advances, it will simply take the seeding of its opponent.
In the draws for each round in the Champions Path, teams will be seeded based on the round in which they enter the Conference League. As a result, there will be no seeding in the second and third qualifying rounds.
Prior to the draws, UEFA can form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee purely for the convenience of the draw and not to resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA can not be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie can be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.
Schedule[edit]
The schedule of the competition is as follows. All matches are scheduled to be played on Thursdays.[1]
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round | 18 June 2024 | 11 July 2024 | 18 July 2024 |
| Second qualifying round | 19 June 2024 | 25 July 2024 | 1 August 2024 |
| Third qualifying round | 22 July 2024 | 8 August 2024 | 15 August 2024 |
| Play-off round | 5 August 2024 | 22 August 2024 | 29 August 2024 |
Teams[edit]
Champions Path[edit]
The Champions Path will include league champions which were eliminated from the Champions Path qualifying phase of the Champions League and the Champions Path qualifying phase of the Europa League and consists of the following rounds:
- Second qualifying round (14 teams): 14 of the 15 losers of the Champions League first qualifying round (one of the teams receives a bye to the third qualifying round).
- Third qualifying round (8 teams): 5 winners of the second qualifying round and 3 loser of the Champions League first qualifying round which received a bye.
- Play-off round (10 teams): 4 winners of the third qualifying round and 6 losers of the Europa League Champions Path third qualifying round.
Below are the participating teams of the Champions Path (with their 2024 UEFA club coefficients, not to be used as seeding for the Champions Path, however),[4] grouped by their starting rounds.
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Winners of play-off round advance to league stage |
- Notes
- UEL CH Q3 Losers of Europa League third qualifying round (Champions Path).
- UCL Q1 Losers of Champions League first qualifying round.
Main Path[edit]
The Main Path will include league non-champions and domestic cup winners and consists of the following rounds:
- First qualifying round (52 teams): 52 teams which enter in this round.
- Second qualifying round (88 teams): 62 teams which enter in this round (including 8 losers of the Europa League Main Path first qualifying round) and 26 winners of the first qualifying round.
- Third qualifying round (52 teams): 8 losers of the Europa League Main Path second qualifying round and 44 winners of the second qualifying round.
- Play-off round (38 teams): 12 teams which enter this round (including 7 losers of the Europa League Main Path third qualifying round) and 26 winners of the third qualifying round.
Below are the participating teams of the League Path (with their 2024 UEFA club coefficients),[4] grouped by their starting rounds. Teams in italic text may still qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League or the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League.
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Winners of play-off round advance to league stage |
|
|
|
- Notes
- UEL MP Q3 Losers of Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path).
- UEL MP Q2 Losers of Europa League second qualifying round (Main Path).
- UEL MP Q1 Losers of Europa League first qualifying round (Main Path).
First qualifying round[edit]
The draw for the first qualifying round will be held on 18 June 2024.
Seeding[edit]
A total of 52 teams will play in the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams will be based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA may form groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team for the first leg.
| Seeded | Seeding to be determined | Unseeded |
|---|---|---|
|
Second qualifying round[edit]
The draw for the second qualifying round will be held on 19 June 2024.
Seeding[edit]
A total of 102 teams will be involved in the second qualifying round – 14 in the Champions Path and 88 in the Main Path. There will be no seeding in the Champions Path draw. Seeding of the teams in the Main Path will be based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA may form groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team for the first leg.
|
| Seeded | Seeding to be determined | Unseeded |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
- Notes
- † Losers of the Champions League first qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
- †† Winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
- ††† Losers of the Europa League first qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
Third qualifying round[edit]
The draw for the third qualifying round will be held on 22 July 2024.
Seeding[edit]
A total of 60 teams will play in the third qualifying round – eight in the Champions Path and 52 in the Main Path. There will be no seeding in the Champions Path draw. Seeding of the teams in the Main Path will be based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA may form groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team for the first leg.
|
| Seeding to be determined |
|---|
|
- Notes
- † Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
- †† Losers of the Europa League second qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
Play-off round[edit]
The draw for the play-off round will be held on 5 August 2024.
Seeding[edit]
A total of 48 teams will play in the third qualifying round – 10 in the Champions Path and 38 in the Main Path. In the Champions Path draw, the six losers of the Europa League third qualifying round will be seeded and the four winners of the Conference League third qualifying round will be unseeded. Seeding of the teams in the Main Path will be based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA may form groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie will be the home team for the first leg.
| Seeded | Unseeded |
|---|---|
|
|
| Seeding to be determined |
|---|
|
- Notes
- † Winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
- †† Losers of the Europa League third qualifying round, whose identity will not be known at the time of draw.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "UEFA club competitions cycle 2024–27 ("Post 2024")". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 36/2023. Union of European Football Associations. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ UEFA.com (25 October 2023). "New format for Champions League post-2024: Everything you need to know | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ "Abolition of the away goals rule in all UEFA club competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Club coefficients". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.