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2026–27 UEFA Europa League

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2026–27 UEFA Europa League
The Waldstadion in Frankfurt will host the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
9 July – 27 August 2026
Competition proper:
16 September 2026 – 26 May 2027
TeamsCompetition proper: 25+11
Total: 45+31 (from 41 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played18
Goals scored47 (2.61 per match)
Attendance455,316 (25,295 per match)
Top scorer(s)Tobias Guddal (Sparta Prague)
2 goals
2027–28 →
All statistics correct as of 17 September 2026.

The 2026–27 UEFA Europa League is the 56th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 18th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

As the reigning champions, Aston Villa automatically qualified for the Champions League league phase, and are unable to defend their title as the new format does not allow clubs to transfer from the Champions League into the Europa League from the league phase onwards.

Association team allocation

[edit]

A total of 76 teams from 41 of the 55 UEFA member associations are participating in the 2026–27 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA association coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[1]

  • The title holders of the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League received an entry into the Europa League (if they did not qualify for the Champions League or Europa League via league position).
  • Associations 1–12 each have two teams.
  • Associations 13–33 (except Russia) [Note RUS] each have one team.
  • Teams eliminated from the 2026–27 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round (except from the first qualifying round) were transferred to the Europa League.

Association ranking

[edit]

For the 2026–27 UEFA Europa League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2025 UEFA association coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2020–21 to 2024–25.[2]

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

  • (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
  • (CON) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Conference League
Association ranking for 2026–27 UEFA Europa League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1  England 115.196 2 +1 (CON)
2  Italy 97.231
3  Spain 94.453
4  Germany 86.331
5  France 73.093 +1 (UCL)
6  Netherlands 67.150 +1 (UCL)
7  Portugal 62.266
8  Belgium 56.850 +1 (UCL)
9  Czech Republic 44.100 +1 (UCL)
10  Turkey 43.900
11  Norway 39.687
12  Greece 39.312 +1 (UCL)
13  Austria 36.450 1 +1 (UCL)
14  Scotland 35.550 +2 (UCL)
15  Poland 35.000 +2 (UCL)
16  Denmark 33.981 +1 (UCL)
17  Switzerland 33.625 +1 (UCL)
18  Israel 31.625 +1 (UCL)
19  Cyprus 27.537 +1 (UCL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20  Sweden 27.125 1 +1 (UCL)
21  Croatia 27.025 +1 (UCL)
22  Serbia 25.500 +1 (UCL)
23  Ukraine 24.400
24  Hungary 24.000
25  Romania 23.250 +1 (UCL)
26  Russia 22.632 0 [Note RUS]
27  Slovakia 21.250 1
28  Slovenia 20.343 +1 (UCL)
29  Bulgaria 19.875 +1 (UCL)
30  Azerbaijan 19.625
31  Republic of Ireland 14.968 +1 (UCL)
32  Moldova 14.500
33  Iceland 13.520 +1 (UCL)
34  Bosnia and Herzegovina 13.031 0
35  Armenia 12.250 +1 (UCL)
36  Latvia 12.250
37  Kosovo 12.041
38  Finland 11.750 +1 (UCL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
39  Kazakhstan 11.125 0 +1 (UCL)
40  Faroe Islands 10.750 +1 (UCL)
41  Malta 8.500
42  Northern Ireland 8.333 +1 (UCL)
43  Lithuania 8.250 +1 (UCL)
44  Liechtenstein 8.000
45  Estonia 7.957
46  Albania 7.875 +1 (UCL)
47  Montenegro 7.208
48  Luxembourg 6.875
49  Wales 6.791
50  Georgia 6.625 +1 (UCL)
51  North Macedonia 6.166
52  Belarus 6.000
53  Andorra 5.498
54  Gibraltar 5.457 +1 (UCL)
55  San Marino 2.498

Distribution

[edit]
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from the previous round Teams transferred from Champions League
First qualifying round
(12 teams)
  • 12 domestic cup winners from associations 21–33 (except Russia)[Note RUS]
Second qualifying round
(18 teams)
  • 5 domestic cup winner from associations 16–20
  • 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
  • 6 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
(26 teams)		 Champions Path
(12 teams)
  • 12 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path
(14 teams)
  • 3 domestic cup winners from associations 13–15
  • 9 winners from second qualifying round
  • 2 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (League Path)
Play-off round
(24 teams)
  • 5 domestic cup winners from associations 8–12
  • 13 winners from third qualifying round
  • 6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path)
League phase
(36 teams)
  • UEFA Conference League title holders
  • 7 domestic cup winners from associations 1–7
  • 5 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–5
  • 12 winners from play-off round
  • 5 losers from Champions League play-off round (Champions Path)
  • 4 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (League Path)
  • 2 losers from Champions League play-off round (League Path)
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:

  • The cup winners of association 16 (Denmark) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.

As the Europa League title holders (Aston Villa) qualified for the Champions League via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the following changes to the default access list were made:

  • The cup winners of associations 17 to 20 (Switzerland, Israel, Cyprus, Sweden) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.

Teams

[edit]

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

  • CON: Conference League title holders
  • CW: Cup winners
  • 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.: League position of the previous season
  • CL: Transferred from the Champions League
    • CH/LP PO: Losers from the play-off round (Champions/League Path)
    • CH/LP Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round (Champions/League Path)
    • CH/LP Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round (Champions/League Path)

The third qualifying round was divided into Champions Path (CH) and Main Path (MP).

Qualified teams for 2026–27 UEFA Europa League
Entry round Teams
League phase England Crystal Palace (CON) England Bournemouth (6th) England Sunderland (7th) Italy Milan (5th)
Italy Juventus (6th) Spain Real Sociedad (CW) Spain Celta Vigo (6th) Germany TSG Hoffenheim (5th)
Germany Bayer Leverkusen (6th) France Marseille (5th) France Rennes (6th) Netherlands AZ (CW)
Portugal Torreense (CW) Scotland Celtic (CL CH PO) Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva (CL CH PO) Croatia Dinamo Zagreb (CL CH PO)
Slovenia Celje (CL CH PO) Bulgaria Levski Sofia (CL CH PO) France Lyon (CL LP PO) Netherlands NEC (CL LP PO)
Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise (CL LP Q3) Czech Republic Sparta Prague (CL LP Q3) Greece Olympiacos (CL LP Q3) Austria Sturm Graz (CL LP Q3)
Play-off round Belgium Sint-Truiden (3rd) Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň (3rd)[Note CZE] Turkey Trabzonspor (CW) Norway Lillestrøm (CW)
Greece OFI (CW) Denmark AGF (CL CH Q3) Sweden Mjällby AIF (CL CH Q3) Serbia Red Star Belgrade (CL CH Q3)
Armenia Ararat-Armenia (CL CH Q3) Kazakhstan Kairat (CL CH Q3) Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris (CL CH Q3)
Third qualifying round CH Poland Lech Poznań (CL CH Q2) Switzerland Thun (CL CH Q2) Cyprus Omonia (CL CH Q2) Romania Universitatea Craiova (CL CH Q2)
Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers (CL CH Q2) Iceland Víkingur Reykjavík (CL CH Q2) Finland KuPS (CL CH Q2) Faroe Islands KÍ (CL CH Q2)
Northern Ireland Larne (CL CH Q2) Albania Egnatia (CL CH Q2) Georgia (country) Iberia 1999 (CL CH Q2) Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps (CL CH Q2)
MP Austria Red Bull Salzburg (3rd) Scotland Rangers (3rd) Poland Jagiellonia Białystok (3rd) Scotland Heart of Midlothian (CL LP Q2)
Poland Górnik Zabrze (CL LP Q2)
Second qualifying round Netherlands Twente (4th) Portugal Benfica (3rd) Belgium Anderlecht (4th) Czech Republic Hradec Králové (4th)[Note CZE]
Turkey Beşiktaş (4th) Norway Tromsø (3rd) Greece PAOK (3rd) Denmark Midtjylland (CW)
Switzerland St. Gallen (CW) Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (CW) Cyprus Pafos (CW) Sweden Hammarby IF (2nd)
First qualifying round Croatia Hajduk Split (2nd) Serbia Vojvodina (2nd) Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv (CW) Hungary Ferencváros (CW)
Romania Universitatea Cluj (2nd) Slovakia Žilina (CW) Slovenia Aluminij (CW) Bulgaria CSKA Sofia (CW)
Azerbaijan Qarabağ (2nd) Republic of Ireland Derry City (2nd) Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol (CW) Iceland Vestri (CW)

Two teams not playing in a national top division are taking part in the competition: Torreense (2nd tier), Vestri (2nd tier).

Notes

  1. ^
    Czech Republic (CZE): Karviná originally qualified for the play-off round as Czech Cup winners, but were disqualified for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal. Viktoria Plzeň, who originally qualified for the second qualifying round, were subsequently promoted to the play-off round, with Hradec Králové moving up from the Conference League to replace them. Jablonec subsequently took Hradec Králové's Conference League spot.[3]
  2. ^
    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.[4] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[5]

Schedule

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The schedule of the competition is as follows.[6] 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.

Schedule for 2026–27 UEFA Europa League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying First qualifying round 16 June 2026 9 July 2026 16 July 2026
Second qualifying round 17 June 2026 23 July 2026 30 July 2026
Third qualifying round 20 July 2026 6 August 2026 13 August 2026
Play-offs Play-off round 3 August 2026 20 August 2026 27 August 2026
League phase Matchday 1 28 August 2026 16–17 September 2026
Matchday 2 15 October 2026
Matchday 3 22 October 2026
Matchday 4 5 November 2026
Matchday 5 26 November 2026
Matchday 6 10 December 2026
Matchday 7 21 January 2027
Matchday 8 28 January 2027
Knockout phase Knockout round play-offs 29 January 2027 18 February 2027 25 February 2027
Round of 16 26 February 2027 11 March 2027 18 March 2027
Quarter-finals N/a 8 April 2027 15 April 2027
Semi-finals 29 April 2027 6 May 2027
Final 26 May 2027 at Waldstadion, Frankfurt

Qualifying rounds

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First qualifying round

[edit]

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 16 June 2026.[7] The first legs were played on 9 July, and the second legs were played on 16 July 2026.

The winners of the ties advanced to the second qualifying round. The losers were transferred to the Conference League Main Path second qualifying round.

First qualifying round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Dynamo Kyiv Ukraine0–0 (4–2 p)Romania Universitatea Cluj0–00–0 (a.e.t.)
Qarabağ Azerbaijan6–0Iceland Vestri3–03–0
Hajduk Split Croatia3–2Slovakia Žilina2–01–2
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria5–3Republic of Ireland Derry City3–22–1
Sheriff Tiraspol Moldova1–0Slovenia Aluminij0–01–0
Vojvodina Serbia1–5Hungary Ferencváros1–20–3

Second qualifying round

[edit]

The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 17 June 2026.[8] The first legs were played on 23 July, and the second legs were played on 30 July 2026.

The winners of the ties advanced to the Main Path third qualifying round. The losers were transferred to the Conference League Main Path third qualifying round.

Second qualifying round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Hammarby IF Sweden2–4Belgium Anderlecht1–11–3
Qarabağ Azerbaijan0–0 (4–5 p)Bulgaria CSKA Sofia0–00–0 (a.e.t.)
Tromsø Norway1–4Czech Republic Hradec Králové0–11–3
Twente Netherlands3–4Hungary Ferencváros1–22–2
Beşiktaş Turkey3–0Denmark Midtjylland1–02–0
Hajduk Split Croatia2–4Cyprus Pafos2–00–4 (a.e.t.)
Sheriff Tiraspol Moldova0–6Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv0–50–1
St. Gallen Switzerland2–6Portugal Benfica2–10–5
Dynamo Kyiv Ukraine2–5Greece PAOK2–30–2

Third qualifying round

[edit]

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 20 July 2026.[9] The first legs were played on 4, 5 and 6 August, and the second legs were played on 11, 13 and 14 August 2026.

The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round. The losers were transferred to the Conference League play-off round.

Third qualifying round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Path
Larne Northern Ireland1–2Georgia (country) Iberia 19990–01–2 (a.e.t.)
Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar1–2Cyprus Omonia1–10–1
KuPS Finland2–3Romania Universitatea Craiova1–11–2
Shamrock Rovers Republic of Ireland4–6Albania Egnatia3–11–5
Lech Poznań Poland6–0Faroe Islands KÍ1–05–0
Thun Switzerland5–3Iceland Víkingur Reykjavík3–02–3
Main Path
Hradec Králové Czech Republic0–2Turkey Beşiktaş0–10–1
Jagiellonia Białystok Poland3–2Scotland Rangers2–11–1
PAOK Greece2–4Belgium Anderlecht0–12–3
Red Bull Salzburg Austria4–3[a]Cyprus Pafos1–03–3
Benfica Portugal7–2Scotland Heart of Midlothian6–11–1
Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel3–4Bulgaria CSKA Sofia0–33–1
Ferencváros Hungary2–1Poland Górnik Zabrze1–01–1
Notes:
  1. ↑ The order of the legs was reversed after the original draw because the Red Bull Arena was scheduled to host the UEFA Super Cup on 12 August.

Play-off round

[edit]

The draw for the play-off round was held on 3 August 2026.[10] The first legs were played on 20 August, and the second legs were played on 27 August 2026.

The winners of the ties advanced to the league phase. The losers were transferred to the Conference League league phase.

Play-off round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Trabzonspor Turkey0–5Hungary Ferencváros0–10–4
Universitatea Craiova Romania1–2Armenia Ararat-Armenia1–10–1
Sint-Truiden Belgium3–4Cyprus Omonia1–02–4
Red Star Belgrade Serbia4–5Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň3–01–5 (a.e.t.)
Egnatia Albania1–2Norway Lillestrøm0–01–2 (a.e.t.)
Jagiellonia Białystok Poland6–1Georgia (country) Iberia 19994–02–1
Mjällby AIF Sweden0–4Austria Red Bull Salzburg0–10–3
Kairat Kazakhstan0–6Belgium Anderlecht0–30–3
Lech Poznań Poland9–2Switzerland Thun7–02–2
Beşiktaş Turkey3–1Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris3–00–1
Benfica Portugal6–2Denmark AGF3–13–1
OFI Greece5–0Bulgaria CSKA Sofia3–02–0

League phase

[edit]

Ararat-Armenia, Bournemouth, Celje, Crystal Palace, Jagiellonia Białystok, Lillestrøm, NEC, OFI, Sunderland and Torreense are making their debut appearances since the introduction of the group stage (although NEC had previously appeared in the UEFA Cup group stage).

Ararat-Armenia, Bournemouth, Lillestrøm, OFI, Sunderland and Torreense are making their debut appearances in a major UEFA competition group or league phase, with Bournemouth and Torreense qualifying for European football for the first time in their history.

Ararat-Armenia became the first team from Armenia to play in the Europa League group stage or league phase.

A total of 22 national associations are being represented in the league phase.

Table

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Italy Juventus 1 1 0 0 5 0 +5 3 Advance to round of 16 (seeded)
2 England Crystal Palace 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 3
3 Czech Republic Sparta Prague 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 3
4 Turkey Beşiktaş 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 3
5 Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 3
6 Hungary Ferencváros 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3
7 Portugal Benfica 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
8 Germany Bayer Leverkusen 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
8 Greece OFI 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3 Advance to knockout phase play-offs (seeded)
10 England Bournemouth 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
10 France Lyon 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
10 Portugal Torreense 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
13 Greece Olympiacos 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
14 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
15 Cyprus Omonia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
15 England Sunderland 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
17 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Advance to knockout phase play-offs (unseeded)
17 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
17 France Rennes 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
17 Austria Sturm Graz 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
21 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
22 Belgium Anderlecht 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
22 Norway Lillestrøm 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
22 Spain Real Sociedad 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
25 Netherlands AZ 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
25 Spain Celta Vigo 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
25 Bulgaria Levski Sofia 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
28 Scotland Celtic 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0
29 Slovenia Celje 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0
29 Italy Milan 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0
29 Germany TSG Hoffenheim 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0
32 France Marseille 1 0 0 1 1 4 −3 0
33 Armenia Ararat-Armenia 1 0 0 1 1 4 −3 0
34 Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň 1 0 0 1 0 3 −3 0
35 Poland Lech Poznań 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4 0
36 Netherlands NEC 1 0 0 1 0 5 −5 0
Updated to match(es) played on 17 September 2026. Source: UEFA[11]
Rules for classification: League phase tiebreakers

Results

[edit]

Statistics

[edit]

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

Table correct as of 17 September 2026

Top goalscorers

[edit]
Rank[12]PlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played
1 Norway Tobias Guddal Czech Republic Sparta Prague 2 90
2 Seventeen players 1 N/a

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Regulations of the UEFA Europa League, 2026/27 Season". UEFA. 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "Association coefficients 2024/25". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. July 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  3. ↑ "MFK Karviná ineligible to participate in UEFA club competitions and replacements". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 July 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Ukraine crisis: FIFA and UEFA suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs" (Press release). UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "UEFA Circular Letter No49: Men's international match calendar and access list for the 2026/27 season". UEFA Circular Letter. Union of European Football Associations. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "UEFA Europa League first qualifying round draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2026. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "UEFA Europa League second qualifying round draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2026. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "UEFA Europa League third qualifying round draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 July 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "UEFA Europa League play-off draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 August 2026. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "League phase table". UEFA. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "UEFA Europa League – Top Scorers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
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