2015–16 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round

The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round began on 30 June and ended on 27 August 2015. A total of 157 teams competed in the qualifying phase and play-off round to decide 22 of the 48 places in the group stage of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

All times were CEST (UTC+2).

Round and draw dates
All draws were held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Matches could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.

Format
In the qualifying phase and play-off round, 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, the away goals rule was applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time was played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time, i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by penalty shoot-out.

In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. Due to the limited time between matches, the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the results of the previous round were known. For these draws (or in any cases where the result of a tie in the previous round was not known at the time of the draw), the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient was to advance, it simply took the seeding of its defeated opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA formed "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other, and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.

Teams
A total of 157 teams were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round (including 15 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round which entered the play-off round). The 22 winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 16 automatic qualifiers and 10 losers of the Champions League play-off round.

Below are the participating teams (with their 2015 UEFA club coefficients), grouped by their starting rounds.

Qualifying rounds
In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams are divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2015 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
The draw for the first and second qualifying round was held on 22 June 2015. With 102 teams involved, it was UEFA's biggest ever tournament draw. The first legs were played on 30 June and 2 July, and the second legs were played on 7 and 9 July 2015.

Matches
The first legs were played on 30 June and 2 July, and the second legs were played on 7 and 9 July 2015.


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Second leg
Shamrock Rovers won 3–0 on aggregate.

Kairat won 4–1 on aggregate.

Dacia Chișinău won 5–1 on aggregate.

Debrecen won 3–2 on aggregate.

Kukësi won 2–0 on aggregate.

Gabala won 3–2 on aggregate.

Elfsborg won 7–2 on aggregate.

Spartaks Jūrmala won 3–1 on aggregate.

Nõmme Kalju won 1–0 on aggregate.

Omonia won 2–1 on aggregate.

''1–1 on aggregate. Inter Baku won on away goals.''

''2–2 on aggregate. UCD won on away goals.''

Birkirkara won 3–1 on aggregate.

Botoșani won 4–2 on aggregate.

Shakhtyor Soligorsk won 5–1 on aggregate.

Odd won 3–0 on aggregate.

Rosenborg won 2–0 on aggregate.

Beroe Stara Zagora won 5–1 on aggregate.

Beitar Jerusalem won 2–1 on aggregate.

Hajduk Split won 7–3 on aggregate.

Apollon Limassol won 4–0 on aggregate.

AIK won 6–2 on aggregate.

Slovan Bratislava won 9–0 on aggregate.

Randers won 4–0 on aggregate.

West Ham United won 4–0 on aggregate.

Shirak won 3–2 on aggregate.

Žilina won 7–1 on aggregate.

Lokomotiva won 5–3 on aggregate.

''3–3 on aggregate. Jelgava won on away goals.''

Vaduz won 10–1 on aggregate.

Differdange 03 won 4–3 on aggregate.

Linfield won 5–4 on aggregate.

Rabotnički won 2–1 on aggregate.

Strømsgodset won 4–1 on aggregate.

Śląsk Wrocław won 4–1 on aggregate.

''1–1 on aggregate. Spartak Trnava won on away goals.''

Koper won 3–2 on aggregate.

Brøndby won 11–0 on aggregate.

Vojvodina won 3–1 on aggregate.

Jagiellonia Białystok won 9–0 on aggregate.

Ferencváros won 5–2 on aggregate.

Čukarički won 1–0 on aggregate.

''3–3 on aggregate. Mladost Podgorica won on away goals.''

''2–2 on aggregate. Alashkert won on away goals.''

Newtown won 4–2 on aggregate.

''1–1 on aggregate. Aberdeen won on away goals.''

Skonto won 4–1 on aggregate.

Trakai won 7–1 on aggregate.

FH won 2–0 on aggregate.

Željezničar won 3–0 on aggregate.

KR won 3–2 on aggregate.

Second qualifying round
A total of 66 teams played in the second qualifying round: 15 teams which entered in this round, and the 51 winners of the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 22 June 2015. (Note: The numbers for each team were pre-assigned by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with 10 teams and another run for all groups with 12 teams.)

Matches
The first legs were played on 16 July, and the second legs were played on 21 and 23 July 2015.


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Second leg
Elfsborg won 1–0 on aggregate.

AIK won 4–0 on aggregate.

Kairat won 4–2 on aggregate.

Dinamo Minsk won 5–1 on aggregate.

Debrecen won 11–4 on aggregate.

Željezničar won 3–0 on aggregate.

Vaduz won 5–1 on aggregate.

Vojvodina won 4–1 on aggregate.

Omonia won 1–0 on aggregate.

Gabala won 2–1 on aggregate.

Inter Baku won 4–3 on aggregate.

PAOK won 7–2 on aggregate.

Slovan Bratislava won 6–1 on aggregate.

Brøndby won 1–0 on aggregate.

Rosenborg won 4–0 on aggregate.

Legia Warsaw won 4–0 on aggregate.

Odd won 4–1 on aggregate.

Trabzonspor won 3–1 on aggregate.

Charleroi won 9–2 on aggregate.

''2–2 on aggregate. Strømsgodset won on away goals.''

Apollon Limassol won 4–0 on aggregate.

Hajduk Split won 6–4 on aggregate.

IFK Göteborg won 2–0 on aggregate.

Žilina won 6–3 on aggregate.

Thun won 3–2 on aggregate.

Copenhagen won 5–1 on aggregate.

Rabotnički won 2–1 on aggregate.

Astra Giurgiu won 1–0 on aggregate.

Kukësi won 4–3 on aggregate.

Wolfsberger AC won 3–0 on aggregate.

Aberdeen won 5–2 on aggregate.

''1–1 on aggregate. West Ham United won 5–3 on penalties.''

Spartak Trnava won 5–2 on aggregate.

Third qualifying round
A total of 58 teams played in the third qualifying round: 25 teams which entered in this round, and the 33 winners of the second qualifying round. The draw was held on 17 July 2015. (Note: The numbers for each team were pre-assigned by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for the group with 10 teams and another run for all groups with 12 teams.)

Matches
The first legs were played on 29 and 30 July, and the second legs were played on 6 August 2015.


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 * Notes

First leg
''UEFA awarded Legia Warsaw with a 3–0 win against Kukësi after a Legia Warsaw player was hit in the head by an object thrown from the crowd. The original match was abandoned in the 52nd minute with a 2–1 lead for Legia Warsaw.''

Second leg
Rubin Kazan won 4–3 on aggregate.

Gabala won 2–1 on aggregate.

Athletic Bilbao won 2–0 on aggregate.

''2–2 on aggregate. Brøndby won on away goals.''

''3–3 on aggregate. Žilina won on away goals.''

AZ won 4–1 on aggregate.

Rosenborg won 6–3 on aggregate.

Belenenses won 2–1 on aggregate.

Odd won 3–2 on aggregate.

Slovan Liberec won 5–1 on aggregate.

Rabotnički won 2–1 on aggregate.

Hajduk Split won 4–0 on aggregate.

Dinamo Minsk won 2–1 on aggregate.

Bordeaux won 4–0 on aggregate.

''2–2 on aggregate. Thun won on away goals.''

''3–3 on aggregate. Jablonec won on away goals.''

Saint-Étienne won 4–2 on aggregate.

Zorya Luhansk won 5–0 on aggregate.

Southampton won 5–0 on aggregate.

Atromitos won 4–1 on aggregate.

Standard Liège won 3–1 on aggregate.

Astra Giurgiu won 4–3 on aggregate.

PAOK won 2–1 on aggregate.

Krasnodar won 5–3 on aggregate.

Borussia Dortmund won 6–0 on aggregate.

Kairat won 3–2 on aggregate.

Vojvodina won 4–2 on aggregate.

Legia Warsaw won 4–0 on aggregate.

Rheindorf Altach won 6–2 on aggregate.