2023–24_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League

2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League

2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League

European club football competition


The 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League is the third season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA.

Quick Facts Tournament details, Dates ...

The final will be played at the Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, Greece.[1] The winners of the tournament will automatically qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League league stage, unless they qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League through their league performance.

This edition will be the final season with the current format of 32 teams participating in the group stage, after UEFA announced that a brand-new format would be introduced for the following edition.[2] Due to the change, no clubs can be transferred from the Europa League group stage to the UEFA Europa Conference League under the Swiss format, and this edition's winners onwards will no longer be able to defend their title.[3] This will also be the final season under its current name as it is renamed to the UEFA Conference League from the 2024–25 season onwards. According to UEFA, the new denomination of the competition will enable further development as a stand-alone competition in their research amongst fans and commercial partners.[4][5]

As the title holders, West Ham United qualified for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League. They are unable to defend their title after advancing to the Europa League knockout phase.

Association team allocation

A total of 178 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations (excluding Russia) are participating in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[6]

  • Associations 1–5 each had one team qualify.
  • Associations 6–16 (except Russia)[Note RUS] and 51–55 each had two teams qualify.
  • Associations 17–50 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify.
  • Liechtenstein had only one team that qualified as they organized only a domestic cup and no domestic league.
  • Moreover, 18 teams eliminated from the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League and 25 teams eliminated from the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League were transferred to the Europa Conference League.

Association ranking

For the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2022 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2017–18 to 2021–22.[7]

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

  • (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
  • (UEL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Europa League
More information Rank, Association ...

Distribution

The following is the access list for this season.[8]

More information Teams entering in this round, Teams advancing from previous round ...

Due to the suspension of Russia for the 2023–24 European season, the following changes to the access list were made:

  • The cup winners of association 16 (Czech Republic) entered the Europa League third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
  • The cup winners of associations 17 to 19 (Norway, Denmark and Croatia) entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
  • The cup winners of associations 30 to 39 (Slovakia, Slovenia, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Luxembourg, Latvia and Kosovo) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.

Combining with the Champions League title holder (Manchester City) qualifying for the Champions League group stage via their domestic league, the following changes to the access list were made:

  • Two of the Champions League first qualifying round losers received byes and entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.

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 Europa Conference League play-offs winners
  • UCL: Transferred from the Champions League
    • Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
    • PR: Losers from the preliminary round (F: final; SF: semi-finals)
  • UEL: Transferred from the Europa League
    • GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage
    • PO: Losers from the play-off round
    • CH/MP Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round (Champions/Main Path)

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

CC: 2023 UEFA club coefficients.[9]

More information Entry round, Teams ...

One team not playing in a national top division took part in the competition: Vaduz (2nd tier).

Notes

  1. ^
    Champions League (UCL Q1): Two of the Champions League first qualifying round losers were drawn to receive byes to the third qualifying round (Champions Path), as two fewer losers were transferred to the second qualifying round (Champions Path), due to Champions League group stage berths vacated following the UCL title holders qualifying via league position and the suspension of Russia from the 2023–24 European season.
  2. ^
    Belarus (BLR): The winners (Shakhtyor Soligorsk) and runners-up (Energetik-BGU Minsk) of the 2022 Belarusian Premier League were both found guilty of match-fixing by the Football Federation of Belarus and were denied UEFA licenses. Fifth-placed Isloch Minsk Raion were also denied a UEFA license due to their involvement in another match-fixing scandal. The sixth- and seventh-placed teams, Minsk and Gomel did not apply for UEFA licences. As eighth-placed Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino had already qualified for the second qualifying round as cup winners, the Europa Conference League berth reserved for the usual third-placed team was passed down to the highest-placed team who were granted a UEFA license, Neman Grodno, who finished ninth.[10][11][12]
  3. ^
    Italy (ITA): Due to a violation of UEFA's financial regulations, the seventh-placed Juventus were excluded from UEFA men’s club competitions. Subsequently, Fiorentina, the eighth-placed team, took its place in the Europa Conference League.[13]
  4. ^
    Kosovo (KOS): Prishtina would have qualified for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round as the winners of the 2022–23 Kosovar Cup, but failed to obtain a UEFA license. As a result, the berth reserved for the second qualifying round was given to the runner-up of the 2022–23 Football Superleague of Kosovo, Drita, who originally entered the first qualifying round, and the berth reserved for the first qualifying round was given to the fourth-placed team, Dukagjini.[14]
  5. ^
    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 Europa Conference League.
  6. ^
    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.[15] The tables reflected Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[16]
  7. ^
    San Marino (SMR): Cup winners Virtus were found guilty of match-fixing and denied a UEFA license. The third-placed team of the league, La Fiorita, were selected as their replacement by the San Marino Football Federation.[17]
  8. ^
    Ukraine (UKR): The 2022–23 Ukrainian Cup was abandoned due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The berths reserved for the third and fourth-placed teams in the league were transferred to the fourth and fifth-placed teams in the league respectively.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[18][19][20] Matches are scheduled for Thursdays apart from the final, which takes place on a Wednesday, though exceptionally can take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts.

More information Phase, Round ...

Qualifying rounds

First qualifying round

The draw for the first qualifying round was made on 20 June 2023. The first legs were played on 12 and 13 July, and the second legs were played on 18 and 20 July 2023.

The winners of the ties advanced to the Main Path second qualifying round. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season.

More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...
  1. Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second qualifying round

The draw for the second qualifying round was made on 21 June 2023. The first legs were played on 25, 26 and 27 July, and the second legs were played on 1, 2 and 3 August 2023.

The winners of the ties advanced to the third qualifying round of their respective path. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season.

More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...
More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...

Notes

  1. Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Third qualifying round

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 24 July 2023. The first legs were played on 9 and 10 August, and the second legs were played on 16 and 17 August 2023.

The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round of their respective path. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season.

More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...
    1. Order of legs reversed after original draw.

    Play-off round

    The draw for the play-off round was held on 7 August 2023. The first legs were played on 23 and 24 August, and the second legs were played on 31 August 2023.

    The winners of the ties advanced to the group stage. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season.

    In this season, the video assistant referee (VAR) was used from this stage.[21]

    More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...
      1. Order of legs reversed after original draw.

      Group stage

      Location of teams of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage
      Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D;
      Green: Group E; Blue: Group F; Purple: Group G; Pink: Group H.
      Location of Benelux and nearby team of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.
      Red: Group B; Yellow: Group D;
      Green: Group E; Blue: Group F.

      The draw for the group stage was held on 1 September 2023, 14:30 CEST, in Monaco. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. For the draw, the teams were seeded into four pots, each of eight teams, based on their Club coefficients (CC).[22] Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.

      All teams besides AZ, Ballkani, Bodø/Glimt, Fiorentina, Gent, HJK, Maccabi Tel Aviv, PAOK, Slovan Bratislava and Zorya Luhansk made their debut appearances in the group stage. Breiðablik, Čukarički, , Olimpija Ljubljana and Zrinjski Mostar all made their debut appearances in a UEFA competition group stage. Breiðablik, KÍ and Zrinjski Mostar were the first teams from Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Bosnia and Herzegovina, respectively, to play in a UEFA competition group stage. Breiðablik also became the first ever team to qualify for the group stages of a UEFA club competition after starting in a preliminary round.

      A total of 28 national associations were represented in the group stage.

      Group A

      More information Pos, Pld ...
      Source: UEFA

      Group B

      More information Pos, Pld ...
      Source: UEFA

      Group C

      More information Pos, Pld ...
      Source: UEFA
      Notes:
      1. Ranked on head-to-head points: Astana 4, Ballkani 1.

      Group D

      More information Pos, Pld ...
      Source: UEFA
      Notes:
      1. Ranked on head-to-head goal difference: Beşiktaş +1, Lugano –1.

      Group E

      More information Pos, Pld ...
      Source: UEFA

      Group F

      More information Pos, Pld ...
      Source: UEFA

      Group G

      More information Pos, Pld ...
      Source: UEFA

      Group H

      More information Pos, Pld ...
      Source: UEFA
      Notes:
      1. Tied on head-to-head results. Overall goal difference used as a tiebreaker.

      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 was as follows:

      • In the draw for the knockout round play-offs, the eight group runners-up were seeded, and the eight Europa League group third-placed teams were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
      • In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners were seeded, and the eight winners of the knockout round play-offs were unseeded. Again, the seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
      • In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there were no seedings, and teams from the same association could be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw. A draw was also held to determine which semi-final winner would be designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it is played at a neutral venue).

      Bracket

      Knockout round play-offsRound of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
      Netherlands Ajax000
      Netherlands Ajax (a.e.t.)224England Aston Villa044
      England Aston Villa (p)213 (4)
      Norway Bodø/Glimt213
      France Lille123 (3)
      Austria Sturm Graz011
      Austria Sturm Graz415France Lille314
      England Aston Villa   
      Slovakia Slovan Bratislava101
      Greece Olympiacos   
      Greece Olympiacos (a.e.t.)167
      Greece Olympiacos112Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv415
      Greece Olympiacos (p)303 (3)
      Hungary Ferencváros000
      Turkey Fenerbahçe213 (2)
      Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise011
      29 May – Athens
      Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise224Turkey Fenerbahçe303
      Germany Eintracht Frankfurt213
      Switzerland Servette000 (1)
      Switzerland Servette011Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň (p)000 (3)
      Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň000
      Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad000
      Italy Fiorentina (a.e.t.)022
      Israel Maccabi Haifa314
      Israel Maccabi Haifa112Italy Fiorentina415
      Italy Fiorentina   
      Belgium Gent011
      Belgium Club Brugge   
      Norway Molde202
      Norway Molde336Belgium Club Brugge134
      Belgium Club Brugge123
      Poland Legia Warsaw202
      Greece PAOK000
      Croatia Dinamo Zagreb213
      Spain Real Betis011Greece PAOK055
      Croatia Dinamo Zagreb112

      Knockout round play-offs

      The draw for the knockout round play-offs was held on 18 December 2023, 14:00 CET.[23] The first legs were played on 15 February, and the second legs were played on 21 and 22 February 2024.

      More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...

      Round of 16

      The draw for the round of 16 was held on 23 February 2024, 13:00 CET.[24] The first legs were played on 7 March, and the second legs were played on 14 March 2024.

      More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...

      Quarter-finals

      Fenerbahçe v Olympiacos penalty shoot-out.

      The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 15 March 2024, 14:00 CET.[25] The first legs were played on 11 April, and the second legs were played on 18 April 2024.

      More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...

      Semi-finals

      The draw for the semi-finals was held on 15 March 2024, 14:00 CET, after the quarter-final draw.[25] The first legs will be played on 2 May, and the second legs will be played on 8 and 9 May 2024.

      More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...

      Final

      The final will be played on 29 May 2024 at the Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, Greece. A draw was held on 15 March 2024, after the quarter-final and semi-final draws, to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes.[25]

      More information Winners of semi-final 1, v ...

      Statistics

      Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

      Table updated as of 18 April 2024.

      Top goalscorers

      See also


      References

      1. "Lisbon to host UEFA Women's Champions League final in 2025". Union of European Football Associations. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
      2. Wilson, Jonathan (13 March 2021). "New-look Champions League is a pointless waste of time that will destroy the drama". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
      3. Burrows, Ben (28 June 2023). "UEFA Europa Conference League to be renamed". The Athletic. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
      4. "UEFA Europa Conference League to be renamed UEFA Conference League next season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
      5. "Regulations of the UEFA Europa Conference League, 2023/24 Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
      6. "Country coefficients 2021/22". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
      7. "Access list 2021–24" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
      8. "Club coefficients 2022/23". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
      9. "Komisioni i Shkallës së Dytë refuzon ankesën e FC Prishtina". FFKosovo. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
      10. "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC.co.uk. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
      11. "La UEFA ci esclude dalla Conference League 23/24" (in Italian). 15 June 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
      12. "International match calendar and access list for the 2023/24 season". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 65/2022. Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
      13. "Does the Europa Conference League have VAR?". UEFA. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
      14. "UEFA Europa Conference League last-16 draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
      15. "UEFA Europa Conference League – Top Scorers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 18 April 2024.

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