The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL or sometimes, UEFA ECL), which will be renamed the UEFA Conference League prior to the 2024–25 season, is an annual football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the third tier of continental club football in Europe, behind the second-tier Europa League, and the first-tier Champions League.
First contested in the 2021–22 season, the competition serves as the bottom level of the Europa League, which was reduced from 48 to 32 teams in the group stage. The competition is primarily contested by teams from lower-ranked UEFA member associations.[1] No teams qualify directly to the group stage, with 10 teams eliminated in the Europa League play-offs and the rest coming from the Europa Conference League qualifiers. The winners of the competition are awarded a position in the Europa League the following season, unless they qualify for the Champions League.[2]Roma were the inaugural winners of the competition, having beaten Feyenoord 1–0 in the 2022 final. West Ham United are the current champions, having beaten Fiorentina 2–1 in the 2023 final.
The UEFA Europa Conference League trophy on display in Rome
UEFA had reportedly considered adding a third-tier competition since at least 2015, believing that a bottom-level tournament could act as a means of giving clubs from lower-ranked UEFA member countries a chance of progressing beyond their customary elimination from the Champions League and Europa League.[3] In mid-2018, talk of an announcement intensified, with news sources claiming an agreement had already been reached for the competition to be launched and that the 48-team Europa League group stage would be split in two, with the lower half forming the nucleus of what would be the new event.[4]
On 2 December 2018, UEFA announced that the competition – provisionally known as "Europa League 2" or just "UEL2" – was to be launched as part of the 2021–24 three-year competition cycle, with UEFA adding that the new tournament would bring "more matches for more clubs and more associations".[2]
The official name of the competition, "UEFA Europa Conference League", was announced on 24 September 2019.[5]
On 24 May 2021, UEFA revealed the competition's trophy and brand identity. The Europa Conference League Trophy stands 57.5 cm (22.6 in) tall and weighs 11 kg (24 lb).[6]
The first ever goal in the Europa Conference League qualifiers was scored on 6 July 2021 by Mosta player Evo Chris in a 2021–22 qualifying round match against Spartak Trnava.[7] The first ever goal in the Europa Conference League group stage was scored on 14 September 2021 by Maccabi Tel Aviv player Stipe Perica in a 2021–22 group stage match against Alashkert.[8] On 30 September 2021, the competition's first ever hat-trick was scored by Harry Kane for Tottenham Hotspur in a group stage match against NS Mura. Kane came on as a 59th minute substitute at 2–1 before scoring three goals within 20 minutes of each other to finish off the game (5–1).[9]
On 24 February 2022, PAOK became the first ever team to win a Conference League tie on penalties, after beating Danish side Midtjylland 5–3 in a knockout round play-off match.[10] On 5 May 2022, Feyenoord and Roma became the first teams ever to reach the final of UECL, ending with Roma being crowned the inaugural champions.[11]
On 3 November 2022, West Ham United became the first side to win all six of their Conference League group stage matches, picking up wins against FCSB, Silkeborg and Anderlecht.[12] They went on to win the competition by defeating Fiorentina 2–1 in the 2023 final, in the process becoming the first side to finish the competition undefeated, with 12 wins and one draw.
On 28 June 2023, UEFA announced that the competition will be renamed as the UEFA Conference League from the 2024–25 season onwards. According to UEFA, removing 'Europa' from the name of the competition will enable further development as a stand-alone competition in their research amongst fans and commercial partners.[13][14]
A map of UEFA associations whose teams reached the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League
UEFA member association that has been represented in the group stage
UEFA member association that has not been represented in the group stage
Similar to the UEFA Champions League, qualification to the Europa Conference League is split into two paths – separating champions and non-champions – and contains three rounds plus a play-off.[15] Unlike the Champions League, however, the Champions Path will only be contested by teams which lost the qualification for the Champions League group stage and consequently have been relegated either directly into the UEFA Europa Conference League (from UCL Q1&PR to UECL Q2) or via a second relegation from the UEFA Europa League as a result of two straight eliminations (from UCL Q2 to UEL Q3 then to UECL PO).[15]
The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams in main path qualification for each association (excluding 3 relegations from UEL Q3 out of five N2s in associations 10–15 and three CWs in associations 13–15):[15]
Based on this reorganisation, no association will benefit from more berths to continental football than they had before the 2021–24 competition cycle, with the tournament essentially being the lower orders of the existing Europa League tournament but split off into a secondary tournament.
Group stage and knockout phase
The format sees eight groups of four teams, followed by the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (all but the final are played over two legs). An additional preliminary knockout round is played before the round of 16 between teams ranked second in their groups and the third-ranked teams of the UEFA Europa League groups. The new competition features 141 matches over 15 match weeks.[2] 56 teams take part.
The final is played at a neutral venue. The winner of the competition is entitled to participate in the UEFA Europa League the following season. The competition's matches are played on Thursdays.[2]
Distribution (from 2021–22 to 2023–24)
All qualification berths are based on UEFA's default assumption that each association will submit one domestic cup winner as its highest-ranked qualifier after those eligible to enter the Champions League, and will define its remaining entrants by their league position in the previous year. England allocates its lowest-ranked qualification place to the winners of the EFL Cup or, if it already qualified to Champions League or Europa League, to the sixth or seventh placed in the Premier League.
Teams entering this round
Teams advancing from the previous round
Teams transferred from the Champions League
Teams transferred from the Europa League
First qualifying round (72 teams)
26 domestic cup winners from associations 30–55
25 domestic league runners-up from associations 30–55 (except Liechtenstein)
21 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 29–50 (except Liechtenstein)
Second qualifying round
Champions (20 teams)
17 teams eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
3 teams eliminated from Champions League preliminary round
Non-champions (90 teams)
14 domestic cup winners from associations 16–29
14 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–29
16 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–28
9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 6
36 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Champions (10 teams)
10 winners from the second qualifying round for champions
Non-champions (52 teams)
6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
45 winners from the second qualifying round for non-champions
Play-off round
Champions (10 teams)
5 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
5 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round for champions
Non-champions (34 teams)
1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 5
4 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–4 (EFL Cup winners for England, or 7th placed team in domestic league if EFL Cup winners have qualified for Champions League or Europa League)
26 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions
3 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round for non-champions
Group stage (32 teams)
5 winners from the play-off round for champions
17 winners from the play-off round for non-champions
10 teams eliminated from Europa League play-off round
Preliminary knockout round (16 teams)
8 group runners-up from the group stage
8 group third-placed teams from Europa League group stage
21 domestic league runners-up from associations 34–55 (except Liechtenstein)
20 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 30–50 (except Liechtenstein)
Second qualifying round
Champions (16 teams)
16 teams eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
Non-champions (88 teams)
5 domestic cup winners from associations 34–38
18 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–33
17 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–29
9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 6
29 winners from the first qualifying round
9 teams eliminated from Europa League first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Champions (8 teams)
8 winners from the second qualifying round for champions
Non-champions (52 teams)
44 winners from the second qualifying round for non-champions
8 teams eliminated from Europa League second qualifying round
Play-off round
Champions (10 teams)
4 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
6 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round for champions
Non-champions (38 teams)
5 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–5 (EFL Cup winners for England)
26 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions
7 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round for non-champions
League stage (36 teams)
5 winners from the play-off round for champions
19 winners from the play-off round for non-champions
12 teams eliminated from Europa League play-off round
Prize money
Similar to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, the prize money received by the clubs is divided into fixed payments based on participation and results, and variable amounts that depend on the value of their TV market.[17]
For the 2022–23 season, group stage participation in the Europa Conference League is awarded a base fee of €2,940,000. A victory in the group pays €500,000 and a draw €166,000. Also, each group winner earns €650,000 and each runner-up €325,000. Reaching the knock-out stage triggers additional bonuses: €300,000 for the round of 32, €600,000 for the round of 16, €1,000,000 for the quarter-finals and €2,000,000 for the semi-finals. The losing finalists receive €3,000,000 and the champions receive €5,000,000.[18]
First qualifying round elimination: €150,000
Second qualifying round elimination: €350,000
Third qualifying round elimination: €550,000
Play-off round elimination: €750,000
Qualified to Group Stage: €2,940,000
Match won in Group Stage: €500,000
Match drawn in Group Stage: €166,000
1st in Group Stage: €650,000
2nd in Group Stage: €325,000
Knockout round play-offs: €300,000
Round of 16: €600,000
Quarter-final: €1,000,000
Semi-final: €2,000,000
Runner-up: €3,000,000
Champion: €5,000,000
Also, each domestic champion not qualifying for the Group Stages of any tournament receives an additional €260,000.
Starting from the first edition of the competition, UEFA introduced the UEFA Europa Conference League Player of the Season award.
The jury is composed of the coaches of the clubs which participate in the group stage of the competition, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from each UEFA member association.
Pellegrini, the first winner of the Player of the Season award in 2022
Winners
Season
Player
Club
UEFA Europa Conference League Player of the Season
^ abc"UEL2 Access List 2021–24"(PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2018. Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
West Ham United (1st title)
Roma
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League
