UEFA Europa League 2016-17

The 2016–17 UEFA Europa League will be the 46th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 8th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

The UEFA Executive Committee approved in December 2014 changes to the rewards given according to the Respect Fair Play ranking, and starting from the 2016–17 season, the three Fair Play berths will no longer be allocated to the Europa League. It has not been confirmed what changes will be made to the access list (whether three fewer teams will participate in the Europa League, or whether the three berths will be reallocated to any particular association).

Association team allocation
A total of 187 or 188 or 189 or 190 teams from all 54 UEFA member associations are expected to participate in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:
 * Associations 1–51 (except Liechtenstein) each have three teams qualify.
 * Associations 52–53 each have two teams qualify.
 * Liechtenstein and Gibraltar each have one team qualify (Liechtenstein organises only a domestic cup and no domestic league; Gibraltar as per decision by the UEFA Executive Committee)
 * Moreover, 33 teams eliminated from the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League are transferred to the Europa League.

Association ranking
For the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2015 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2010–11 to 2014–15.

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Europa League, as noted below:
 * (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the Champions League

''Final ranking to be determined by 6 June 2015. Current ranking as of 26 February 2015.''

Distribution
The table below shows the default access list (changes which will be made due to the removal of the Fair Play berths have not been accounted for as they have not been confirmed by UEFA).

The access list above is provisional, as changes will need to be made in the following cases:
 * If the Champions League title holders or the Europa League title holders have qualified for the Europa League through domestic performance, their berth in the Europa League is vacated, and cup winners of the highest-ranked associations are moved to a later round accordingly.
 * In some cases where changes to the access list of the Champions League are made, the number of losers of the Champions League third qualifying round which are transferred to the Europa League is increased (up to 16) or decreased (down to 13) from the default number of 15, which means changes to the access list of the Europa League will also need to be made.
 * Because a maximum of five teams from one association can enter the UEFA Champions League, if both the Champions League title holders and the Europa League title holders are from the same top three ranked association and finish outside the top four of their domestic league, the fourth-placed team of their association will be moved to the Europa League.

Redistribution rules
A Europa League place is vacated when a team qualifies for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualifies for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place is vacated, it is redistributed within the national association by the following rules:
 * When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualify for the Champions League, their Europa League place is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place".
 * When the domestic cup winners also qualify for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place" if possible.
 * For associations where a Europa League place is reserved for the League Cup winners, they always qualify for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier. If the League Cup winners have already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place is taken by the highest-placed league team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions.

Qualifying rounds
In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams are divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2016 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

First qualifying round
A total of 104 teams play in the first qualifying round.


 * 🇦🇹 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Austrian Football Bundesliga
 * Third-placed team of 2015–16 Prva HNL
 * 🇨🇾 Runners-up of 2015–16 Cypriot First Division
 * 🇨🇾 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Cypriot First Division
 * 🇵🇱 Runners-up of 2015–16 Ekstraklasa
 * 🇵🇱 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Ekstraklasa
 * 🇮🇱 Runners-up of 2015–16 Israeli Premier League
 * 🇮🇱 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Israeli Premier League
 * 🇧🇾 Runners-up of 2015 Belarusian Premier League
 * 🇧🇾 Third-placed team of 2015 Belarusian Premier League
 * Runners-up of 2015–16 Danish Superliga
 * Third-placed team of 2015–16 Danish Superliga
 * Runners-up of 2015–16 Scottish Premiership
 * Third-placed team of 2015–16 Scottish Premiership
 * 🇸🇪 Winners of 2015–16 Svenska Cupen
 * 🇸🇪 Runners-up of 2015 Allsvenskan
 * 🇸🇪 Third-placed team of 2015 Allsvenskan
 * 🇧🇬 Winners of 2015–16 Bulgarian Cup
 * 🇧🇬 Runners-up of 2015–16 A PFG
 * 🇧🇬 Third-placed team of 2015–16 A PFG
 * 🇳🇴 Winners of 2015 Norwegian Football Cup
 * 🇳🇴 Runners-up of 2015 Tippeligaen
 * 🇳🇴 Third-placed team of 2015 Tippeligaen
 * 🇷🇸 Winners of 2015–16 Serbian Cup
 * 🇷🇸 Runners-up of 2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga
 * 🇷🇸 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga
 * 🇸🇮 Winners of 2015–16 Slovenian Football Cup
 * 🇸🇮 Runners-up of 2015–16 Slovenian PrvaLiga
 * 🇸🇮 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Slovenian PrvaLiga
 * 🇦🇿 Winners of 2015–16 Azerbaijan Cup
 * 🇦🇿 Runners-up of 2015–16 Azerbaijan Premier League
 * 🇦🇿 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Azerbaijan Premier League
 * 🇸🇰 Winners of 2015–16 Slovak Cup
 * 🇸🇰 Runners-up of 2015–16 Slovak First Football League
 * 🇸🇰 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Slovak First Football League
 * 🇭🇺 Winners of 2015–16 Magyar Kupa
 * 🇭🇺 Runners-up of 2015–16 Nemzeti Bajnokság I
 * 🇭🇺 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Nemzeti Bajnokság I
 * 🇰🇿 Winners of 2015 Kazakhstan Cup
 * 🇰🇿 Runners-up of 2015 Kazakhstan Premier League
 * 🇰🇿 Third-placed team of 2015 Kazakhstan Premier League
 * 🇲🇩 Winners of 2015–16 Moldovan Cup
 * 🇲🇩 Runners-up of 2015–16 Moldovan National Division
 * 🇲🇩 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Moldovan National Division
 * Winners of 2015–16 Georgian Cup
 * Runners-up of 2015–16 Umaglesi Liga
 * Third-placed team of 2015–16 Umaglesi Liga
 * 🇫🇮 Winners of 2015 Finnish Cup
 * 🇫🇮 Runners-up of 2015 Veikkausliiga
 * 🇫🇮 Third-placed team of 2015 Veikkausliiga
 * 🇮🇸 Winners of 2015 Icelandic Cup
 * 🇮🇸 Runners-up of 2015 Úrvalsdeild
 * 🇮🇸 Third-placed team of 2015 Úrvalsdeild
 * 🇧🇦 Winners of 2015–16 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup
 * 🇧🇦 Runners-up of 2015–16 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
 * 🇧🇦 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
 * 🇱🇮 Winners of 2015–16 Liechtenstein Cup
 * 🇲🇰 Winners of 2015–16 Macedonian Football Cup
 * 🇲🇰 Runners-up of 2015–16 Macedonian First Football League
 * 🇲🇰 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Macedonian First Football League
 * 🇮🇪 Winners of 2015 FAI Cup
 * 🇮🇪 Runners-up of 2015 League of Ireland Premier Division
 * 🇮🇪 Third-placed team of 2015 League of Ireland Premier Division
 * 🇲🇪 Winners of 2015–16 Montenegrin Cup
 * 🇲🇪 Runners-up of 2015–16 Montenegrin First League
 * 🇲🇪 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Montenegrin First League
 * 🇦🇱 Winners of 2015–16 Albanian Cup
 * 🇦🇱 Runners-up of 2015–16 Albanian Superliga
 * 🇦🇱 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Albanian Superliga
 * 🇱🇺 Winners of 2015–16 Luxembourg Cup
 * 🇱🇺 Runners-up of 2015–16 Luxembourg National Division
 * 🇱🇺 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Luxembourg National Division
 * Winners of 2015–16 Irish Cup
 * Runners-up of 2015–16 NIFL Premiership
 * Third-placed team of 2015–16 NIFL Premiership
 * 🇱🇹 Winners of 2015–16 Lithuanian Football Cup
 * 🇱🇹 Runners-up of 2015 A Lyga
 * 🇱🇹 Third-placed team of 2015 A Lyga
 * 🇱🇻 Winners of 2015–16 Latvian Football Cup
 * 🇱🇻 Runners-up of 2015 Latvian Higher League
 * 🇱🇻 Third-placed team of 2015 Latvian Higher League
 * 🇲🇹 Winners of 2015–16 Maltese FA Trophy
 * 🇲🇹 Runners-up of 2015–16 Maltese Premier League
 * 🇲🇹 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Maltese Premier League
 * 🇪🇪 Winners of 2015–16 Estonian Cup
 * 🇪🇪 Runners-up of 2015 Meistriliiga
 * 🇪🇪 Third-placed team of 2015 Meistriliiga
 * 🇫🇴 Winners of 2015 Faroe Islands Cup
 * 🇫🇴 Runners-up of 2015 Faroe Islands Premier League
 * 🇫🇴 Third-placed team of 2015 Faroe Islands Premier League
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Winners of 2015–16 Welsh Cup
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Runners-up of 2015–16 Welsh Premier League
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Welsh Premier League
 * 🇦🇲 Winners of 2015–16 Armenian Cup
 * 🇦🇲 Runners-up of 2015–16 Armenian Premier League
 * 🇦🇲 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Armenian Premier League
 * 🇦🇩 Winners of 2016 Copa Constitució
 * 🇦🇩 Runners-up of 2015–16 Primera Divisió
 * 🇸🇲 Winners of 2015–16 Coppa Titano
 * 🇸🇲 Runners-up of 2015–16 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio
 * 🇬🇮 Winners of 2016 Rock Cup

Second qualifying round
A total of 66 teams play in the second qualifying round: 14 teams which enter in this round, and the 52 winners of the first qualifying round.


 * 🇧🇪 Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Belgian Pro League
 * Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Swiss Super League
 * 🇹🇷 Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Süper Lig
 * Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Superleague Greece
 * 🇨🇿 Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Czech First League
 * 🇷🇴 Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Liga I
 * 🇦🇹 Runners-up 2015–16 Austrian Football Bundesliga
 * Runners-up of 2015–16 Prva HNL
 * 🇨🇾 Winners of 2015–16 Cypriot Cup
 * 🇵🇱 Winners of 2015–16 Polish Cup
 * 🇮🇱 Winners of 2015–16 Israel State Cup
 * 🇧🇾 Winners of 2015–16 Belarusian Cup
 * Winners of 2015–16 Danish Cup
 * Winners of 2015–16 Scottish Cup

Third qualifying round
A total of 58 teams play in the third qualifying round: 25 teams which enter in this round, and the 33 winners of the second qualifying round.


 * 🇪🇸 Sixth-placed team of 2015–16 La Liga
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Winners of 2015–16 Football League Cup
 * 🇩🇪 Sixth-placed team of 2015–16 Bundesliga
 * 🇮🇹 Fifth-placed team of 2015–16 Serie A
 * Fourth-placed team of Portugal
 * Fifth-placed team of 2015–16 Primeira Liga
 * 🇫🇷 TBD (Third-placed team or Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Ligue 1)
 * 🇫🇷 Winners of 2015–16 Coupe de la Ligue
 * 🇷🇺 TBD (Third-placed team or Fifth-placed team of 2015–16 Russian Premier League)
 * 🇷🇺 Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Russian Premier League
 * 🇺🇦 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League
 * 🇺🇦 Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League
 * Third-placed team of 2015–16 Eredivisie
 * Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Eredivisie
 * 🇧🇪 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Belgian Pro League
 * Third-placed team of 2015–16 Swiss Super League
 * 🇹🇷 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Süper Lig
 * Winners of 2015–16 Greek Football Cup
 * Third-placed team of 2015–16 Superleague Greece
 * 🇨🇿 Winners of 2015–16 Czech Cup
 * 🇨🇿 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Czech First League
 * 🇷🇴 Winners of 2015–16 Cupa României
 * 🇷🇴 Third-placed team of 2015–16 Liga I
 * 🇦🇹 Winners of 2015–16 Austrian Cup
 * Winners of 2015–16 Croatian Football Cup

Play-off round
A total of 44 teams play in the play-off round: the 29 winners of the third qualifying round, and the 15 losers of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

Group stage
A total of 48 teams play in the group stage: 16 teams which enter in this stage, the 22 winners of the play-off round, and the 10 losers of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League play-off round.


 * 🇪🇸 Winners of 2015–16 Copa del Rey
 * 🇪🇸 Fifth-placed team of 2015–16 La Liga
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Winners of 2015–16 FA Cup
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fifth-placed team of 2015–16 Premier League
 * 🇩🇪 Winners of 2015–16 DFB-Pokal
 * 🇩🇪 Fifth-placed team of 2015–16 Bundesliga
 * 🇮🇹 Winners of 2015–16 Coppa Italia
 * 🇮🇹 Fourth-placed team of 2015–16 Serie A
 * Winners of 2015–16 Taça de Portugal
 * 🇫🇷 Winners of 2015–16 Coupe de France
 * 🇷🇺 Winners of 2015–16 Russian Cup
 * 🇺🇦 Winners of 2015–16 Ukrainian Cup
 * Winners of 2015–16 KNVB Cup
 * 🇧🇪 Winners of 2015–16 Belgian Cup
 * Winners of cup 2015–16 Swiss Cup
 * 🇹🇷 Winners of cup 2015–16 Turkish Cup

The 48 teams are allocated into four pots based on their 2016 UEFA club coefficients. They are drawn into twelve groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 32, where they are joined by the eight third-placed teams of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Knockout phase
In the knockout phase, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:
 * In the draw for the round of 32, the twelve group winners and the four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage with the better group records are seeded, and the twelve group runners-up and the other four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage are unseeded. The seeded teams are drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
 * In the draws for the round of 16 onwards, there are no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association can be drawn against each other.