2025–26 UEFA Conference League

2025–26 UEFA Conference League
	; The Red Bull Arena in Leipzig will host the final
Tournament details
Teams	Competition proper:; Total:
	← 2024–25 2026–27 →

	Future Event This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events. It may contain tentative information; the content may change as the event approaches and more information becomes available.

The 2025–26 UEFA Conference League will be the fifth season of the UEFA Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA.

This will be the second UEFA Conference League played under a new format involving a 36-team league phase. The new format also does not allow teams to transfer from the Europa League league or knockout phase to the Conference League knockout phase, and thus Conference League winners can no longer defend their title as the winner of the Conference League automatically qualifies for the Europa League league phase.

The final will be played at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany. The winners of the tournament will automatically qualify for the 2026–27 UEFA Europa League league phase, unless they qualify for the 2026–27 UEFA Champions League through their league performance. In such case, the access list will be rebalanced.

Association team allocation[]

A total of 167 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations are participating in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League. The association ranking based on the UEFA association coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:

Associations 1–12 each have one team.
Associations 13–33 and 51–55 (except Russia)^{[Note RUS]} each have two teams.
Associations 34–50 each have three teams (except Liechtenstein, which has one).^{[Note LIE]}
15 teams eliminated from the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League and 41 teams eliminated from the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League will be transferred to the Conference League.

Association ranking[]

For the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2024 UEFA association coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2019–20 to 2023–24.

Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Conference League, as noted below:

(CL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
(EL) – Additional/vacated teams transferred from/to the UEFA Europa League

Distribution[]

The following is the access list for this season.

		Teams entering in this round	Teams advancing from previous round	Teams transferred from Champions League	Teams transferred from Europa League
First qualifying round (52 teams)		11 domestic cup winners from associations 45–55 21 domestic league runners-up from associations 34–55 (except Liechtenstein)^{[Note LIE]} 20 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 30–50 (except Liechtenstein)^{[Note LIE]}
Second qualifying round (102 teams)	Champions path (14 teams)			14 teams eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
Second qualifying round (102 teams)	League path (86 teams)	11 domestic cup winners from associations 34–44 17 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–33 (except Russia)^{[Note RUS]} 16 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–29 (except Russia)^{[Note RUS]} 9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15 1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 6	26 winners from the first qualifying round		6 teams eliminated from Europa League first qualifying round
Third qualifying round (60 teams)	Champions path (8 teams)		7 winners from the second qualifying round (Champions path)	1 team eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
Third qualifying round (60 teams)	League path (52 teams)		43 winners from the second qualifying round (League path)		9 teams eliminated from Europa League second qualifying round
Play-off round (48 teams)	Champions path (10 teams)		4 winners from the third qualifying round (Champions path)		6 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round (Champions path)
Play-off round (48 teams)	League path (38 teams)	5 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–5 (EFL Cup winners for England)	26 winners from the third qualifying round (League path)		7 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round (League path)
League phase (36 teams)			5 winners from the play-off round (Champions path) 19 winners from the play-off round (League path)		12 teams eliminated from Europa League play-off round
Knockout phase play-offs (16 teams)			16 teams ranked 9–24 from the league phase
Round of 16 (16 teams)			8 teams ranked 1–8 from the league phase 8 winners from the knockout phase play-offs

The information here reflects the ongoing suspension of Russia in European football, and so the following changes to the default access list were made:

Teams[]

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

CW: Domestic cup winners
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position of the previous season
LC: League cup winners
RW: Regular season winners
PW: End-of-season Conference League play-offs winners
CL: Transferred from the Champions League
- Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
EL: Transferred from the Europa League
- PO: Losers from the play-off round
- CH/MP Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round (Champions/Main Path)
- MP Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round (Main Path)
- MP Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round (Main Path)

The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round were divided into Champions Path (CH) and Main Path (MP).

Qualified teams for 2025–26 UEFA Conference League
Entry round		Teams
League phase		(EL PO)	(EL PO)	(EL PO)	(EL PO)
		(EL PO)	(EL PO)	(EL PO)	(EL PO)
		(EL PO)	(EL PO)	(EL PO)	(EL PO)

Play-off round	CH	(EL CH Q3)	(EL CH Q3)	(EL CH Q3)	(EL CH Q3)
	CH	(EL CH Q3)	(EL CH Q3)
	MP	(6th)	(6th)	(6th)	(6th)
		(6th)	(EL MP Q3)	(EL MP Q3)	(EL MP Q3)
		(EL MP Q3)	(EL MP Q3)	(EL MP Q3)	(EL MP Q3)

Third qualifying round	CH	(CL Q1)
	MP	(EL MP Q2)	(EL MP Q2)	(EL MP Q2)	(EL MP Q2)
	MP	(EL MP Q2)	(EL MP Q2)	(EL MP Q2)	(EL MP Q2)

Second qualifying round	CH	(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)
		(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)
		(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)
		(CL Q1)	(CL Q1)
	MP	(EL MP Q1)	(EL MP Q1)	(EL MP Q1)	(EL MP Q1)
		(EL MP Q1)	(EL MP Q1)	(EL MP Q1)	(EL MP Q1)
		(PW)	(4th)	(PW)	(4th)
		(PW)	(4th)	(4th)	(3rd)
		(PW)	Viking (3rd)	Rosenborg (4th)	(3rd)
		(4th)	(2nd)	(PW)	(2nd)
		(3rd)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(2nd)
		(3rd)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(2nd)
		(3rd)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(2nd)
		(3rd)	Hammarby (2nd)	AIK (3rd)	(2nd)
		(PW)	(2nd)	(PW)	(2nd)
		(3rd)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(2nd)
		(2nd)	(2nd)	Astana (2nd)	Ilves (2nd)
		Drogheda United (CW)	(CW)	Riga (2nd)	HB (CW)
		(CW)	(CW)	KA (CW)	(CW)
		(CW)	Banga (CW)

First qualifying round		(3rd)	(3rd)	(3rd)	Ordabasy (4th)
		HJK (3rd)	SJK (PW)	Shamrock Rovers (2nd)	St Patrick's Athletic (3rd)
		(2nd)	(3rd)	Auda (3rd)	Daugavpils (5th)
		KÍ (2nd)	NSÍ Runavík (4th)	(2nd)	(3rd)
		Víkingur Reykjavík (2nd)	Valur (3rd)	(2nd)	(PW)
		(2nd)	(3rd)	Hegelmann (2nd)	Kauno (3rd)
		(CW)	(2nd)	(3rd)	Spaeri (CW)
		Torpedo Kutaisi (2nd)	Dila Gori (3rd)	(CW)	(2nd)
		(3rd)	(CW)	Nõmme Kalju (2nd)	Paide Linnameeskond (3rd)
		(CW)	Neman Grodno (2nd)	Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino (3rd)	(CW)
		(2nd)	(3rd)	(CW)	(2nd)
		(CW)	(PW)	(CW)	(2nd)
		(CW)	(2nd)	(CW)	(PW)

Notes

^ Liechtenstein (LIE): The seven teams affiliated with the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) all played in the Swiss football league system. The only competition organised by the LFV was the Liechtenstein Football Cup – the winners of which qualified for the UEFA Conference League for the 2025–26 season.
^ Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.

Round and draw dates[]

The schedule of the competition is as follows. Matches are scheduled for Thursdays, with an exclusive day of 18 December, apart from the final, which takes place on a Wednesday, though exceptionally can take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts.

Schedule for 2025–26 UEFA Conference League
Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying	First qualifying round	17 June 2025	10 July 2025	17 July 2025
	Second qualifying round	18 June 2025	24 July 2025	31 July 2025
	Third qualifying round	21 July 2025	7 August 2025	14 August 2025
Play-offs	Play-off round	4 August 2025	21 August 2025	28 August 2025
League phase	Matchday 1	29 August 2025	2 October 2025
	Matchday 2		23 October 2025
	Matchday 3		6 November 2025
	Matchday 4		27 November 2025
	Matchday 5		11 December 2025
	Matchday 6		18 December 2025
Knockout phase	Knockout phase play-offs	16 January 2026	19 February 2026	26 February 2026
	Round of 16	27 February 2026	12 March 2026	19 March 2026
	Quarter-finals		9 April 2026	16 April 2026
	Semi-finals		30 April 2026	7 May 2026
	Final		27 May 2026 at Red Bull Arena, Leipzig

Qualifying rounds[]

Main article: 2025–26 UEFA Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round

First qualifying round[]

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 17 June 2025. The first legs will be played on 8 and 10 July, and the second legs will be played on 16 and 17 July 2025.

The winners of the ties will advance to the second qualifying round.

First qualifying round
Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
NSÍ	Match 1	HJK	10 Jul	17 Jul
Torpedo Kutaisi	Match 2	Ordabasy	10 Jul	17 Jul
Željezničar	Match 3	Koper	10 Jul	17 Jul
SJK	Match 4	KÍ	10 Jul	17 Jul
Nõmme Kalju	Match 5	Partizani	10 Jul	17 Jul
Tre Fiori	Match 6	Pyunik	10 Jul	17 Jul
St Patrick's Athletic	Match 7	Hegelmann	10 Jul	17 Jul
Dečić	Match 8	Sileks	10 Jul	17 Jul
Sutjeska	Match 9	Dynamo Brest	10 Jul	17 Jul
Larne	Match 10	Auda	10 Jul	16 Jul
Floriana	Match 11	Haverfordwest County	8 Jul	17 Jul
Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino	Match 12	Rabotnički	10 Jul	17 Jul
FCB Magpies	Match 13	Paide Linnameeskond	10 Jul	17 Jul
Birkirkara	Match 14	Petrocub Hîncești	10 Jul	17 Jul
Atlètic Club d'Escaldes	Match 15	F91 Dudelange	10 Jul	17 Jul
Valur	Match 16	Flora	10 Jul	17 Jul
Malisheva	Match 17	Víkingur Reykjavík	10 Jul	17 Jul
Racing Union	Match 18	Dila Gori	10 Jul	17 Jul
Vllaznia	Match 19	Daugavpils	10 Jul	17 Jul
Urartu	Match 20	Neman Grodno	10 Jul	17 Jul
Vardar	Match 21	La Fiorita	10 Jul	17 Jul
Kauno Žalgiris	Match 22	Penybont	10 Jul	17 Jul
St Joseph's	Match 23	Cliftonville	8 Jul	17 Jul
Borac Banja Luka	Match 24	FC Santa Coloma	10 Jul	17 Jul

Second qualifying round[]

The first legs will be played on 24 July, and the second legs will be played on 31 July 2025.

The winners of the ties will advance to the third qualifying round.

Second qualifying round
Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Champions Path
Loser of CL Q1 match 5	Match 1	Loser of CL Q1 match 4	24 Jul	31 Jul
Loser of CL Q1 match 1	Match 2	Loser of CL Q1 match 9	24 Jul	31 Jul
Loser of CL Q1 match 3	Match 3	Loser of CL Q1 match 6	24 Jul	31 Jul
Loser of CL Q1 match 12	Match 4	Loser of CL Q1 match 10	24 Jul	31 Jul
Loser of CL Q1 match 13	Match 5	Loser of CL Q1 match 2	24 Jul	31 Jul
Loser of CL Q1 match 14	Match 6	Loser of CL Q1 match 8	24 Jul	31 Jul
Main Path
Dundee United	Match 1	UNA Strassen	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 10	Match 2	Loser of EL Q1 match 2	24 Jul	31 Jul
DAC Dunajská Streda	Match 3	Winner of match 20	24 Jul	31 Jul
Vaduz	Match 4	Dungannon Swifts	24 Jul	31 Jul
Silkeborg	Match 5	KA	24 Jul	31 Jul
Rosenborg	Match 6	Banga	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 15	Match 7	Dinamo City	24 Jul	31 Jul
Austria Wien	Match 8	Spaeri	24 Jul	31 Jul
Ballkani	Match 9	Winner of match 11	24 Jul	31 Jul
Viking	Match 10	Winner of match 3	24 Jul	31 Jul
AEK Athens	Match 11	Loser of EL Q1 match 6	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 6	Match 12	Győr	24 Jul	31 Jul
Riga	Match 13	Winner of match 18	24 Jul	31 Jul
Raków Częstochowa	Match 14	Žilina	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 14	Match 15	Loser of EL Q1 match 4	24 Jul	31 Jul
Ararat-Armenia	Match 16	Universitatea Cluj	24 Jul	31 Jul
Varaždin	Match 17	Santa Clara	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 22	Match 18	Winner of match 16	24 Jul	31 Jul
Loser of EL Q1 match 8	Match 19	Maribor	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 19	Match 20	Winner of match 17	24 Jul	31 Jul
Hammarby	Match 21	Charleroi	24 Jul	31 Jul
Radnički 1923	Match 22	Winner of match 4	24 Jul	31 Jul
Novi Pazar	Match 23	Jagiellonia Białystok	24 Jul	31 Jul
Polissya Zhytomyr	Match 24	Winner of match 24	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 21	Match 25	Lausanne-Sport	24 Jul	31 Jul
HB	Match 26	Brøndby	24 Jul	31 Jul
Oleksandriya	Match 27	Loser of EL Q1 match 7	24 Jul	31 Jul
Hibernians	Match 28	Loser of EL Q1 match 3	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 7	Match 29	Winner of match 5	24 Jul	31 Jul
AIK	Match 30	Winner of match 13	24 Jul	31 Jul
Sarajevo	Match 31	Universitatea Craiova	24 Jul	31 Jul
Aris Limassol	Match 32	Puskás Akadémia	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 23	Match 33	Shamrock Rovers	24 Jul	31 Jul
Loser of EL Q1 match 1	Match 34	AZ	24 Jul	31 Jul
Zira	Match 35	Hajduk Split	24 Jul	31 Jul
Arda	Match 36	Winner of match 1	24 Jul	31 Jul
Loser of EL Q1 match 5	Match 37	Sparta Prague	24 Jul	31 Jul
Zimbru Chișinău	Match 38	Astana	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 8	Match 39	Rapid Wien	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 12	Match 40	Maccabi Haifa	24 Jul	31 Jul
Araz-Naxçıvan	Match 41	Aris Thessaloniki	24 Jul	31 Jul
Omonia	Match 42	Winner of match 2	24 Jul	31 Jul
Cherno More	Match 43	İstanbul Başakşehir	24 Jul	31 Jul
Winner of match 9	Match 44	Beitar Jerusalem	24 Jul	31 Jul

Third qualifying round[]

The draw for the third qualifying round will be held on 21 July 2025.

Seeding[]

A total of 60 teams will play in the third qualifying round. Seeding of the teams will be based on their 2025 UEFA club coefficients. 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.

Champions Path
Qualified teams
Loser of the tie involving Virtus Loser of the tie involving Víkingur 6 winners of the second qualifying round

Main Path
Seeded	To be confirmed	Unseeded
Winner of the tie involving AZ Winner of the tie involving Rapid Wien Winner of the tie involving Sparta Prague Winner of the tie involving İstanbul Başakşehir Winner of the tie involving Maccabi Haifa Winner of the tie involving Shamrock Rovers Winner of the tie involving Omonia Winner of the tie involving Jagiellonia Białystok Winner of the tie involving Santa Clara Winner of the tie involving Astana Winner of the tie involving Charleroi Winner of the tie involving Hajduk Split	Winner of the tie involving Riga Winner of the tie involving Maribor Winner of the tie involving AEK Athens Winner of the tie involving Ballkani Winner of the tie involving DAC Dunajská Streda Winner of the tie involving Raków Częstochowa Winner of the tie involving Rosenborg Winner of the tie involving Viking Winner of the tie involving Aris Thessaloniki Winner of the tie involving Ararat-Armenia Winner of the tie involving Austria Wien Winner of the tie involving Vaduz Loser of the tie involving Hibernian Winner of the tie involving Dundee United 13 winners of the second qualifying round 7 losers of the Europa League second qualifying round	Winner of the tie involving Brøndby Winner of the tie involving Silkeborg Winner of the tie involving Lausanne-Sport Winner of the tie involving Puskás Akadémia Winner of the tie involving Universitatea Craiova Winner of the tie involving Beitar Jerusalem

Play-off round[]

The draw for the play-off round will be held on 4 August 2025.

Seeding[]

A total of 48 teams will play in the play-off round. Seeding of the teams will be based on their 2025 UEFA club coefficients. 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.

Champions Path
Qualified teams
4 winners of the third qualifying round 6 losers of the Europa League third qualifying round

Main Path
Seeded	To be confirmed	Unseeded
Fiorentina Nottingham Forest Rayo Vallecano Mainz 05 Strasbourg	26 winners of the third qualifying round 5 losers of the Europa League third qualifying round	Loser of the tie involving Wolfsberg Loser of the tie involving Fredrikstad

External links[]

Official website

UEFA Conference League
Qualifying / play-off rounds
2021–22 (Champions · Main) · 2022–23 (Champions · Main) · 2023–24 (Champions · Main) · 2024–25 (Champions · Main) · 2025–26 (Champions · Main) ·
Tournament
2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 · 2025–26
Group / league phases
2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 · 2025–26
Knockout phases
2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 · 2025–26
Finals
2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · 2026

2025–26 in European football (UEFA)
Domestic leagues
Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus '25 '26 · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia '25 '26 · Faroe Islands '25 '26 · Finland '25 '26 · France · Georgia '25 '26 · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Iceland '25 '26 · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan '25 '26 · Kosovo · Latvia '25 '26 · Lithuania '25 '26 · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · North Macedonia · Northern Ireland · Norway '25 '26 · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland '25 '26 · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden '25 '26 · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales
Domestic cups
Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia · Faroe Islands '25 '26 · Finland '25 '26 · France · Georgia '25 '26 · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Iceland '25 '26 · Israel · ItalyKazakhstan '25 '26 · Kosovo · Latvia '25 '26 · Liechtenstein · Lithuania '25 '26 · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · North Macedonia · Northern Ireland · Norway '25 '26 · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland '25 '26 · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales
League cups
England · Finland · Iceland · Israel · Kazakhstan '25 '26 · Northern Ireland · Portugal · Scotland · Wales
Supercups
Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bulgaria · Cyprus · England · Estonia '25 '26 · Faroe Islands · France · Georgia · Germany · Iceland · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan '25 '26 · Kosovo · Latvia '25 '26 · Lithuania '25 '26 · Malta · Netherlands · Northern Ireland · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland '25 '26 · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Spain · Turkey · ~~Ukraine~~
UEFA competitions
Champions League (qualifying phase and play-off round · league phase · knockout phase · Final) · Europa League (qualifying phase and play-off round · league phase · knockout phase · Final) · Conference League (qualifying phase and play-off round · Champions Path · Main Path · league phase · knockout phase · Final) · Super Cup · Youth League (UEFA Champions League Path · Domestic Champions Path · knockout phase) · Under-20 Intercontinental Cup
International competitions
2026 FIFA World Cup (qualification) · 2026 Finalissima · 2027 Euro Under-21 (qualification) · 2026 Euro Under-19 (qualification) · 2026 Euro Under-17 (qualification)

[cnote_Note_LIE] Liechtenstein (LIE): The seven teams affiliated with the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) all played in the Swiss football league system. The only competition organised by the LFV was the Liechtenstein Football Cup – the winners of which qualified for the UEFA Conference League for the 2025–26 season.

[cnote_Note_RUS] Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.

[Note RUS]

[Note LIE]

2025–26 UEFA Conference League

Contents

Association team allocation[]

Association ranking[]

Distribution[]

Teams[]

Round and draw dates[]

Qualifying rounds[]

First qualifying round[]

Second qualifying round[]

Third qualifying round[]

Seeding[]

Play-off round[]

Seeding[]

See also[]

External links[]

Tournament details
The Red Bull Arena in Leipzig will host the final
Teams	Competition proper: Total:
← 2024–25 2026–27 →