2025–26 UEFA Conference League

2025–26 UEFA Conference League
The Red Bull Arena in Leipzig will host the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
8 July – 28 August 2025
Competition proper:
2 October 2025 – 27 May 2026
TeamsCompetition proper: 24+12
Total: 109+55 (from 54 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played140
Goals scored343 (2.45 per match)
Attendance1,611,686 (11,512 per match)
Top scorer(s)Mikael Ishak (Lech Poznań)
Marius Mouandilmadji (Samsunspor)
8 goals each
All statistics correct as of 19 March 2026.

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

This is the second UEFA Conference League played under a new format involving a 36-team league phase.[1] The new format also does not allow teams to transfer from the Europa League to the Conference League from the league phase onwards, and thus the Conference League titleholders (Chelsea) are unable to defend their title as the winner of the Conference League automatically qualifies for the Europa League league phase.[2] However, Chelsea had already qualified for the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League league phase via their domestic league position prior to winning the Conference League, so the automatic berth in the Europa League was not required and the access list was rebalanced.

The final will be played at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany.[3] 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 or Europa League through their league performance. In which case, the access list will be rebalanced.

Association team allocation

A total of 164 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:[4]

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.[5]

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

  • (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
  • (UEL) – Additional/vacated teams transferred from/to the UEFA Europa League
Association ranking for 2025–26 UEFA Conference League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1  England 104.303 1 [Note ENG]
2  Italy 90.284
3  Spain 89.489
4  Germany 86.624
5  France 66.831
6  Netherlands 61.300
7  Portugal 56.316
8  Belgium 48.800 +1 (UEL)
9  Turkey 38.600 +2 (UEL)
10  Czech Republic 36.050 +2 (UEL)
11  Scotland 36.050 +2 (UEL)
12  Switzerland 32.975 +2 (UEL)
13  Austria 32.600 2 +1 (UEL)
14  Norway 31.625 +1 (UEL)
15  Greece 31.525
16  Denmark 31.450
17  Israel 31.125 +1 (UEL)
18  Ukraine 28.000 +2 (UEL)
19  Serbia 27.775 +1 (UEL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20  Croatia 25.525 2 +1 (UEL)
21  Poland 25.375 +2 (UEL)
22  Russia 22.965 0 [Note RUS]
23  Cyprus 22.100 2 +1 (UEL)
24  Hungary 21.875 +1 (UEL)
25  Sweden 21.500 +1 (UEL)
26  Romania 21.375 +1 (UEL)
27  Bulgaria 20.375 +1 (UEL)
28  Azerbaijan 20.125 +1 (UEL)
29  Slovakia 19.625 +2 (UEL)
30  Slovenia 13.250 +1 (UCL)
+1 (UEL)
31  Moldova 13.125 +1 (UCL)
+1 (UEL)
32  Kosovo 11.541 +2 (UEL)
33  Kazakhstan 11.500 +1 (UEL)
34  Finland 11.125 +2 (UEL)
35  Republic of Ireland 10.875 3 −1 [Note IRL]
+1 (UEL)
36  Armenia 10.625 +1 (UEL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
37  Latvia 10.625 3 +1 (UEL)
38  Faroe Islands 10.375 +1 (UCL)
39  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10.000 +1 (UEL)
40  Liechtenstein 10.000 1 [Note LIE]
41  Iceland 9.583 3 +1 (UEL)
42  Northern Ireland 9.208 +1 (UCL)
43  Luxembourg 8.625 +1 (UCL)
44  Lithuania 8.500 +1 (UCL)
45  Malta 8.250 +1 (UEL)
46  Georgia 7.625 +1 (UCL)
47  Albania 7.375 +1 (UCL)
48  Estonia 7.207 +1 (UCL)
49  Belarus 6.625 +1 (UCL)
50  North Macedonia 6.000 +1 (UEL)
51  Andorra 5.998 2 +1 (UCL)
52  Wales 5.791 +1 (UCL)
53  Montenegro 5.708 +1 (UCL)
54  Gibraltar 4.957 +1 (UEL)
55  San Marino 1.832 +1 (UCL)

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
(48 teams)
  • 8 domestic cup winners from associations 48–55
  • 20 domestic league runners-up from associations 34–55 (except Liechtenstein and Republic of Ireland)[Note LIE][Note IRL]
  • 20 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 30–50 (except Liechtenstein)[Note LIE]
Second qualifying round
(100 teams) 		Champions Path
(12 teams)
  • 12 teams eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
League Path
(88 teams)
  • 12 domestic cup winners from associations 35–47 (except Republic of Ireland)[Note IRL]
  • 18 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–33 (except Russia)[Note RUS] and association 35[Note IRL]
  • 16 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–29 (except Russia[Note RUS] and Slovakia[Note SVK])
  • 9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
  • 1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 6
  • 24 winners from the first qualifying round
  • 8 teams eliminated from Europa League first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
(60 teams) 		Champions Path
(8 teams)
  • 6 winners from the second qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 2 teams eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round[Note UCL Q1]
League Path
(52 teams)
  • 44 winners from the second qualifying round (League Path)
  • 8 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)
League Path
(38 teams)
  • 5 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–5 (EFL Cup winners for England)[Note ENG]
  • 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:

  • The cup winners of associations 39 to 44 (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg and Lithuania) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
  • As a result of corresponding changes to the Champions League access list, there was one fewer loser from the Champions League first qualifying round transferred to the Conference League second qualifying round (Champions Path) so one transferred team received a bye to the third qualifying round (Champions Path).

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

  • As a result of corresponding changes to the Champions League access list, there was one fewer loser from the Champions League first qualifying round (two fewer in total) transferred to the Conference League second qualifying round (Champions Path), so one transferred team (two in total) received a bye to the third qualifying round (Champions Path).

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

  • The cup winners of association 34 (Finland) entered the Europa League first qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
  • The cup winners of associations 45 (Malta) and 46 (Georgia) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first 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 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)
    • Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round
    • Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round[6]

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 Samsunspor (EL PO) Sigma Olomouc (EL PO) Aberdeen (EL PO) Dynamo Kyiv (EL PO)
Rijeka (EL PO) Lech Poznań (EL PO) AEK Larnaca (EL PO) Slovan Bratislava (EL PO)
KuPS (EL PO) Zrinjski Mostar (EL PO) Shkëndija (EL PO) Lincoln Red Imps (EL PO)
Play-off round CH Drita (EL CH Q3) Shelbourne (EL CH Q3) Noah (EL CH Q3) RFS (EL CH Q3)
Breiðablik (EL CH Q3) Hamrun Spartans (EL CH Q3)
MP Crystal Palace (CW)[Note ENG] Fiorentina (6th) Rayo Vallecano (8th) Mainz 05 (6th)
Strasbourg (7th) Servette (EL MP Q3) Wolfsberger AC (EL MP Q3) Fredrikstad (EL MP Q3)
Shakhtar Donetsk (EL MP Q3) Legia Warsaw (EL MP Q3) BK Häcken (EL MP Q3) CFR Cluj (EL MP Q3)
Third qualifying round CH Víkingur Gøta (CL Q1) [Note UCL Q1] Virtus (CL Q1)[Note UCL Q1]
MP Anderlecht (EL Q2) Beşiktaş (EL Q2) Baník Ostrava (EL Q2) Hibernian (EL Q2)
Lugano (EL Q2) Levski Sofia (EL Q2) Celje (EL Q2) Sheriff Tiraspol (EL Q2)
Second qualifying round CH Olimpija Ljubljana (CL Q1) Milsami Orhei (CL Q1) Linfield (CL Q1) Differdange 03 (CL Q1)
Žalgiris (CL Q1) Iberia 1999 (CL Q1) Egnatia (CL Q1) FCI Levadia (CL Q1)
Dinamo Minsk (CL Q1) Inter Club d'Escaldes (CL Q1) The New Saints (CL Q1) Budućnost Podgorica (CL Q1)
MP Hapoel Be'er Sheva (EL Q1) Partizan (EL Q1) Paks (EL Q1) Sabah (EL Q1)
Spartak Trnava (EL Q1) Prishtina (EL Q1) Aktobe (EL Q1) Ilves (EL Q1)
AZ (PW) Santa Clara (5th) Charleroi (PW) İstanbul Başakşehir (5th)
Sparta Prague (4th) Dundee United (4th) Lausanne-Sport (5th) Austria Wien (3rd)
Rapid Wien (PW) Viking (3rd) Rosenborg (4th) AEK Athens (4th)
Aris (5th) Brøndby (3rd) Silkeborg (PW)[Note IRL] Maccabi Haifa (3rd)
Beitar Jerusalem (4th) Oleksandriya (2nd) Polissya Zhytomyr (4th) Novi Pazar (3rd)
Radnički 1923 (5th)[Note SRB] Hajduk Split (3rd) Varaždin (4th) Raków Częstochowa (2nd)
Jagiellonia Białystok (3rd) Aris Limassol (2nd) Omonia (3rd) Puskás Akadémia (2nd)
Győri ETO (4th)[Note SVK] Hammarby IF (2nd) AIK (3rd) Universitatea Craiova (3rd)
Universitatea Cluj (4th) Cherno More (3rd) Arda (PW) Zira (2nd)
Araz-Naxçıvan (3rd) Žilina (2nd) Košice (5th)[Note SVK] Maribor (2nd)
Zimbru Chișinău (3rd) Ballkani (2nd) Astana (2nd) Shamrock Rovers (2nd)[Note IRL]
Ararat-Armenia (2nd) Riga (2nd) HB (CW) Sarajevo (CW)
Vaduz (CW) KA (CW) Dungannon Swifts (CW) UNA Strassen (2nd)
Banga (CW) Hibernians (CW) Spaeri (CW) Dinamo City (CW)[Note IRL]
First qualifying round Koper (3rd) Petrocub Hîncești (4th) Malisheva (3rd) Ordabasy (4th)
HJK (3rd) SJK (PW) St Patrick's Athletic (3rd) Urartu (3rd)
Pyunik (4th) Auda (3rd) Daugavpils (5th)[Note LVA] KÍ (2nd)
NSÍ (4th) Borac Banja Luka (2nd) Željezničar (4th) Víkingur Reykjavík (2nd)
Valur (3rd) Larne (2nd) Cliftonville (PW) F91 Dudelange (3rd)
Racing Union (4th) Hegelmann (2nd) Kauno Žalgiris (3rd) Birkirkara (2nd)
Floriana (3rd) Torpedo Kutaisi (2nd) Dila Gori (3rd) Vllaznia (2nd)
Partizani (3rd) Nõmme Kalju (CW) Paide Linnameeskond (3rd) Flora (4th)
Neman Grodno (CW) Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino (3rd) Dynamo Brest (4th) Vardar (CW)
Sileks (2nd) Rabotnicki (3rd) Atlètic Club d'Escaldes (2nd) FC Santa Coloma (3rd)
Penybont (2nd) Haverfordwest County (PW) Dečić (CW) Sutjeska (3rd)[Note MNE]
Magpies (CW)[Note GIB] St Joseph's (2nd) La Fiorita (PW) Tre Fiori (3rd)

Two teams not playing in a national top division took part in the competition: Vaduz (2nd tier) and Spaeri (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 league phase berths vacated following the Champions League title holders qualifying via league position and the suspension of Russia from the 2025–26 European season.
  2. ^
    England (ENG): Initially, Crystal Palace qualified for the Europa League as the winners of the 2024–25 FA Cup and Nottingham Forest qualified for the Conference League as the 7th placed team in the Premier League. But on 11 July, UEFA ruled[7] that Crystal Palace and French club Olympique Lyonnais (who also qualified for the Europa League) were both part of a group owned by the same company (prior to 1 March 2025) and as such could not compete in the same competition. As Olympique Lyonnais finished higher in their domestic league, Crystal Palace were forced to swap European rights with Nottingham Forest. Crystal Palace's place in the Conference League was confirmed when their appeal was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 11 August.[8][9]
  3. ^
    Gibraltar (GIB): FCB Magpies, who qualified by winning the 2024–25 Rock Cup, merged into Calpe City Magpies on 1 June 2025,[10] but played as Magpies during the 2025–26 season due to registration issues.
  4. ^
    Latvia (LVA): Valmiera finished 4th in the 2024 Latvian Higher League, but were disqualified and expelled from the league outright. In addition, the club was also disqualified from all European competitions including the Conference League. As a result, their place in the competition was passed on to the 5th placed team, Daugavpils.
  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 Conference League for the 2025–26 season.
  6. ^
    Montenegro (MNE): Petrovac would have qualified for the first qualifying round by finishing second, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence. As a result, their berth was passed onto the third-placed side, Sutjeska.[11]
  7. ^
    Republic of Ireland (IRL): Drogheda United qualified for the second qualifying round as the 2024 FAI Cup winners. They were expelled from the competition as their owners, Trivela Group, also own Danish club Silkeborg, and Silkeborg finished in a higher league position than Drogheda did. No Irish club was able to replace them as the deadline for a UEFA licence had passed. Second place Shamrock Rovers moved from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round to replace Drogheda United. With an odd number of teams in the first qualifying round as a result, the next-highest cup winner Dinamo City from Albania also moved up.[6][12]
  8. ^
    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.[13] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[14]
  9. ^
    Serbia (SRB): OFK Beograd qualified for the second qualifying round but failed to obtain a UEFA licence. As a result, the berth was given to fifth-place Radnički.
  10. ^
    Slovakia (SVK): DAC Dunajská Streda originally qualified for the second qualifying round but were later excluded by UEFA due to multi-club ownership rules, because Győr (Hungary) also qualified. Both teams finished fourth in their leagues but DAC Dunajská Streda were removed due to Slovakia's lower position in the UEFA standings. Initially, UEFA cancelled DAC Dunajska Streda's second qualifying round tie, meaning whoever won first qualifying round match 20 would have received a bye to the third qualifying round.[15] However, Košice, the next highest-placed team of the Slovak league, replaced DAC Dunajská Streda on 15 July, in time to participate in the second qualifying round.[6]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[16] 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.[17]

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 N/a 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 rounds

First qualifying round

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 17 June 2025.[18] The first legs were played on 8 and 10 July, and the second legs were played on 16 and 17 July 2025.

The winners of the ties advanced to the second qualifying round.

First qualifying round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
NSÍ 4–5 HJK4–00–5 (a.e.t.)
Torpedo Kutaisi 5–4 Ordabasy4–31–1
Željezničar 2–4 Koper1–11–3
SJK 1–4 KÍ1–20–2
Nõmme Kalju 2–1 Partizani1–11–0 (a.e.t.)
Tre Fiori 1–5 Pyunik1–00–5
St Patrick's Athletic 3–0 Hegelmann1–02–0
Dečić 3–2 Sileks2–01–2
Sutjeska 3–2 Dynamo Brest1–22–0
Larne 2–2 (4–2 p) Auda0–02–2 (a.e.t.)
Floriana 5–3 Haverfordwest County2–13–2
Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino 4–0 Rabotnicki3–01–0
Magpies 3–7 Paide Linnameeskond2–31–4
Birkirkara 1–3 Petrocub Hîncești1–00–3
Atlètic Club d'Escaldes 5–2 F91 Dudelange2–03–2
Valur 5–1 Flora3–02–1
Malisheva 0–9 Víkingur Reykjavík0–10–8
Racing Union 1–3 Dila Gori1–20–1
Vllaznia 4–3 Daugavpils0–14–2
Urartu 1–6 Neman Grodno1–20–4
Vardar 5–2[a] La Fiorita3–02–2
Kauno Žalgiris 4–1 Penybont3–01–1
St Joseph's 5–4 Cliftonville2–23–2 (a.e.t.)
Borac Banja Luka 3–4 FC Santa Coloma1–42–0
Notes:
  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second qualifying round

The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 18 June 2025. The first legs were played on 22, 23 and 24 July, and the second legs were played on 29 and 31 July 2025.

The winners of the ties advanced to the third qualifying round.

Second qualifying round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Path
Víkingur Gøta ByeN/A——
Virtus ByeN/A——
FCI Levadia 3–2 Iberia 19991–02–2 (a.e.t.)
Žalgiris 0–2 Linfield0–00–2
The New Saints 0–2 Differdange 030–10–1
Olimpija Ljubljana 5–3 Inter Club d'Escaldes4–21–1
Budućnost Podgorica 1–2 Milsami Orhei0–01–2
Dinamo Minsk 0–3 Egnatia0–20–1
Main Path
Dundee United 2–0 UNA Strassen1–01–0
Larne 1–1 (5–4 p) Prishtina0–01–1 (a.e.t.)
Košice 3–4 Neman Grodno2–31–1
Vaduz 3–1 Dungannon Swifts0–13–0 (a.e.t.)
Silkeborg 4–3 KA1–13–2 (a.e.t.)
Rosenborg 7–0 Banga5–02–0
Atlètic Club d'Escaldes 2–3 Dinamo City1–21–1
Austria Wien 7–0 Spaeri2–05–0
Ballkani 5–3 Floriana4–21–1
Viking 12–3 Koper7–05–3
AEK Athens 1–0 Hapoel Be'er Sheva1–00–0
Pyunik 3–4 Győri ETO2–11–3
Riga 5–4 Dila Gori2–13–3
Raków Częstochowa 6–1 Žilina3–03–1
Petrocub Hîncești 1–6 Sabah0–21–4
Ararat-Armenia 2–1 Universitatea Cluj0–02–1 (a.e.t.)
Varaždin 2–3 Santa Clara2–10–2
Kauno Žalgiris 3–2 Valur1–12–1
Paks 2–1 Maribor1–01–1
Vllaznia 4–5 Víkingur Reykjavík2–12–4 (a.e.t.)
Hammarby IF 2–1 Charleroi0–02–1 (a.e.t.)
Radnički 1923 0–1 KÍ0–00–1
Novi Pazar 2–5 Jagiellonia Białystok1–21–3
Polissya Zhytomyr 5–3 FC Santa Coloma1–24–1
Vardar 2–6 Lausanne-Sport2–10–5
HB 1–2 Brøndby1–10–1
Oleksandriya 0–6 Partizan0–20–4
Hibernians 2–7 Spartak Trnava1–21–5
St Patrick's Athletic 3–2 Nõmme Kalju1–02–2 (a.e.t.)
Paide Linnameeskond 0–8[a] AIK0–20–6
Sarajevo 2–5 Universitatea Craiova2–10–4
Aris Limassol 5–2 Puskás Akadémia3–22–0
St Joseph's 0–4 Shamrock Rovers0–40–0
Ilves 4–8 AZ4–30–5
Zira 2–3 Hajduk Split1–11–2 (a.e.t.)
Arda 2–2 (4–3 p) HJK0–02–2 (a.e.t.)
Aktobe 2–5 Sparta Prague2–10–4
Astana 3–1[a] Zimbru Chișinău1–12–0
Dečić 2–6 Rapid Wien0–22–4
Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino 1–4 Maccabi Haifa1–10–3
Araz-Naxçıvan 4–3 Aris2–12–2
Omonia 5–0 Torpedo Kutaisi1–04–0
Cherno More 0–5 İstanbul Başakşehir0–10–4
Sutjeska 3–7 Beitar Jerusalem1–22–5
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Third qualifying round

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 21 July 2025. The first legs were played on 5 and 7 August, and the second legs were played on 13 and 14 August 2025.

Third qualifying round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Path
Olimpija Ljubljana 4–2 Egnatia0–04–2 (a.e.t.)
Milsami Orhei 3–5 Virtus3–20–3
Differdange 03 5–4 FCI Levadia2–33–1 (a.e.t.)
Víkingur Gøta 2–3 Linfield2–10–2
Main Path
Rapid Wien 4–4 (5–4 p) Dundee United2–22–2 (a.e.t.)
Sparta Prague 6–2 Ararat-Armenia4–12–1
AZ 4–0 Vaduz3–01–0
Lugano 4–7 Celje0–54–2
KÍ 2–2 (4–5 p) Neman Grodno2–00–2 (a.e.t.)
Riga 4–3 Beitar Jerusalem3–01–3
Víkingur Reykjavík 3–4 Brøndby3–00–4
Hajduk Split 3–4 Dinamo City2–11–3 (a.e.t.)
Anderlecht 4–1 Sheriff Tiraspol3–01–1
Lausanne-Sport 5–1 Astana3–12–0
Larne 0–3 Santa Clara0–30–0
Aris Limassol 3–5 AEK Athens2–21–3 (a.e.t.)
Viking 2–4 İstanbul Başakşehir1–31–1
Araz-Naxçıvan 0–9 Omonia0–40–5
Ballkani 1–4 Shamrock Rovers1–00–4
Raków Częstochowa 2–1 Maccabi Haifa0–12–0
AIK 2–3 Győri ETO2–10–2
Universitatea Craiova 6–4 Spartak Trnava3–03–4 (a.e.t.)
Polissya Zhytomyr 4–2 Paks3–01–2
Levski Sofia 3–0 Sabah1–02–0
Silkeborg 2–3 Jagiellonia Białystok0–12–2
Partizan 3–4 Hibernian0–23–2 (a.e.t.)
Baník Ostrava 5–4 Austria Wien4–31–1
Rosenborg 1–0 Hammarby IF0–01–0
St Patrick's Athletic 3–7 Beşiktaş1–42–3
Kauno Žalgiris 0–3 Arda0–10–2

Play-off round

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

The draw for the play-off round was held on 4 August 2025. The first legs were played on 21 August, and the second legs were played on 27 and 28 August 2025.

Play-off round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Path
Hamrun Spartans 3–2 RFS1–02–2
Shelbourne 5–1 Linfield3–12–0
Breiðablik 5–2 Virtus2–13–1
Drita 3–1 Differdange 032–11–0
Olimpija Ljubljana 3–7 Noah1–42–3
Main Path
Strasbourg 3–2 Brøndby0–03–2
Jagiellonia Białystok 4–1 Dinamo City3–01–1
Shakhtar Donetsk 3–2 Servette1–12–1 (a.e.t.)
Anderlecht 1–3 AEK Athens1–10–2
İstanbul Başakşehir 2–5 Universitatea Craiova1–21–3
Crystal Palace 1–0 Fredrikstad1–00–0
Celje 3–0 Baník Ostrava1–02–0
Raków Częstochowa 3–1 Arda1–02–1
Hibernian 4–5 Legia Warsaw1–23–3 (a.e.t.)
Levski Sofia 1–6 AZ0–21–4
Polissya Zhytomyr 2–6 Fiorentina0–32–3
Győri ETO 2–3 Rapid Wien2–10–2
Neman Grodno 0–5 Rayo Vallecano0–10–4
Lausanne-Sport 2–1 Beşiktaş1–11–0
Santa Clara 1–2 Shamrock Rovers1–20–0
Rosenborg 3–5 Mainz 052–11–4
Sparta Prague 2–1 Riga2–00–1
BK Häcken 7–3 CFR Cluj7–20–1
Wolfsberger AC 2–2 (4–5 p) Omonia2–10–1 (a.e.t.)

League phase

Location of teams in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League league phase
Main article: 2025–26 UEFA Conference League league phase

The Conference League league phase comprised the 24 winners of the Conference League play-off round, as well as 12 losers of the Europa League play-off round.

The league phase draw for the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League took place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 29 August 2025. The 36 teams were divided into six pots of six teams each based on their UEFA club coefficient.

The draw ceremony was held along with the league phase draw for the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League, as a change from the previous season. In the previous season's draw the 36 teams were manually drawn one at a time; this season's draw was entirely computer generated with all 36 teams' opponents and home/away locations drawn at once, but revealed pot by pot.[19] Each team faced one opponent from each of the six pots, with one home and one away match from each pot pair of Pots 1 and 2, Pots 3 and 4, and Pots 5 and 6. Teams could not face opponents from their own association, and could only be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same association.[20][21]

Crystal Palace, Drita, Hamrun Spartans, KuPS, Rayo Vallecano, Samsunspor, Shelbourne, Shkëndija, Sigma Olomouc and Universitatea Craiova made their debut appearances in a major UEFA competition group or league phase. Hamrun Spartans were the first team from Malta to play in a major UEFA competition group stage or league phase.[22]

A total of 29 national associations were represented in the league phase. Poland were the first country to have four clubs play in the Conference League group stage/league phase, and it was also the first time in history that four Polish clubs competed in any edition of a UEFA competition group stage or league phase.[23]

Table

The top eight ranked teams received a bye to the round of 16. The teams ranked from 9th to 24th contested the knockout phase play-offs, with the teams ranked from 9th to 16th seeded for the draw. Teams ranked from 25th to 36th were eliminated from European competition.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Strasbourg 6 5 1 0 11 5 +6 16 Advance to round of 16 (seeded)
2 Raków Częstochowa 6 4 2 0 9 2 +7 14
3 AEK Athens 6 4 1 1 14 7 +7 13
4 Sparta Prague 6 4 1 1 10 3 +7 13
5 Rayo Vallecano 6 4 1 1 13 7 +6 13
6 Shakhtar Donetsk 6 4 1 1 10 5 +5 13
7 Mainz 05 6 4 1 1 7 3 +4 13
8 AEK Larnaca 6 3 3 0 7 1 +6 12
9 Lausanne-Sport 6 3 2 1 6 3 +3 11 Advance to knockout phase play-offs (seeded)
10 Crystal Palace 6 3 1 2 11 6 +5 10
11 Lech Poznań 6 3 1 2 12 8 +4 10
12 Samsunspor 6 3 1 2 10 6 +4 10
13 Celje 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10
14 AZ 6 3 1 2 7 7 0 10
15 Fiorentina 6 3 0 3 8 5 +3 9
16 Rijeka 6 2 3 1 5 2 +3 9
17 Jagiellonia Białystok 6 2 3 1 5 4 +1 9 Advance to knockout phase play-offs (unseeded)
18 Omonia 6 2 2 2 5 4 +1 8
19 Noah 6 2 2 2 6 7 −1 8
20 Drita 6 2 2 2 4 8 −4 8
21 KuPS 6 1 4 1 6 5 +1 7
22 Shkëndija 6 2 1 3 4 5 −1 7
23 Zrinjski Mostar 6 2 1 3 8 10 −2 7
24 Sigma Olomouc 6 2 1 3 7 9 −2 7
25 Universitatea Craiova 6 2 1 3 6 8 −2 7
26 Lincoln Red Imps 6 2 1 3 7 15 −8 7
27 Dynamo Kyiv 6 2 0 4 9 9 0 6
28 Legia Warsaw 6 2 0 4 8 8 0 6
29 Slovan Bratislava 6 2 0 4 5 9 −4 6
30 Breiðablik 6 1 2 3 6 11 −5 5
31 Shamrock Rovers 6 1 1 4 7 13 −6 4
32 BK Häcken 6 0 3 3 5 8 −3 3
33 Hamrun Spartans 6 1 0 5 4 11 −7 3
34 Shelbourne 6 0 2 4 0 7 −7 2
35 Aberdeen 6 0 2 4 3 14 −11 2
36 Rapid Wien 6 0 1 5 3 14 −11 1
Source: UEFA[24]
Rules for classification: League phase tiebreakers

Results

Matchday 1
Home teamScoreAway team
Dynamo Kyiv 0–2 Crystal Palace
Lausanne-Sport 3–0 Breiðablik
Noah 1–0 Rijeka
Zrinjski Mostar 5–0 Lincoln Red Imps
Jagiellonia Białystok 1–0 Hamrun Spartans
Lech Poznań 4–1 Rapid Wien
KuPS 1–1 Drita
Omonia 0–1 Mainz 05
Rayo Vallecano 2–0 Shkëndija
Aberdeen 2–3 Shakhtar Donetsk
Sparta Prague 4–1 Shamrock Rovers
Fiorentina 2–0 Sigma Olomouc
AEK Larnaca 4–0 AZ
Legia Warsaw 0–1 Samsunspor
Celje 3–1 AEK Athens
Raków Częstochowa 2–0 Universitatea Craiova
Shelbourne 0–0 BK Häcken
Slovan Bratislava 1–2 Strasbourg
Matchday 2
Home teamScoreAway team
AEK Athens 6–0 Aberdeen
BK Häcken 2–2 Rayo Vallecano
Breiðablik 0–0 KuPS
Shakhtar Donetsk 1–2 Legia Warsaw
Drita 1–1 Omonia
Rijeka 1–0 Sparta Prague
Shkëndija 1–0 Shelbourne
Strasbourg 1–1 Jagiellonia Białystok
Rapid Wien 0–3 Fiorentina
AZ 1–0 Slovan Bratislava
Mainz 05 1–0 Zrinjski Mostar
Crystal Palace 0–1 AEK Larnaca
Hamrun Spartans 0–1 Lausanne-Sport
Lincoln Red Imps 2–1 Lech Poznań
Samsunspor 3–0 Dynamo Kyiv
Shamrock Rovers 0–2 Celje
Sigma Olomouc 1–1 Raków Częstochowa
Universitatea Craiova 1–1 Noah
Matchday 3
Home teamScoreAway team
Mainz 05 2–1 Fiorentina
Sparta Prague 0–0 Raków Częstochowa
AEK Athens 1–1 Shamrock Rovers
AEK Larnaca 0–0 Aberdeen
Shakhtar Donetsk 2–0 Breiðablik
Noah 1–2 Sigma Olomouc
KuPS 3–1 Slovan Bratislava
Celje 2–1 Legia Warsaw
Samsunspor 3–0 Hamrun Spartans
BK Häcken 1–2 Strasbourg
Crystal Palace 3–1 AZ
Lausanne-Sport 1–1 Omonia
Dynamo Kyiv 6–0 Zrinjski Mostar
Shkëndija 1–1 Jagiellonia Białystok
Lincoln Red Imps 1–1 Rijeka
Rayo Vallecano 3–2 Lech Poznań
Shelbourne 0–1 Drita
Rapid Wien 0–1 Universitatea Craiova
Matchday 4
Home teamScoreAway team
AZ 2–0 Shelbourne
Hamrun Spartans 3–1 Lincoln Red Imps
Zrinjski Mostar 2–1 BK Häcken
Lech Poznań 2–0 Lausanne-Sport
Omonia 2–0 Dynamo Kyiv
Raków Częstochowa 4–1 Rapid Wien
Sigma Olomouc 2–1 Celje
Universitatea Craiova 1–0 Mainz 05
Slovan Bratislava 2–1 Rayo Vallecano
Aberdeen 1–1 Noah
Fiorentina 0–1 AEK Athens
Breiðablik 2–2 Samsunspor
Drita 1–0 Shkëndija
Rijeka 0–0 AEK Larnaca
Jagiellonia Białystok 1–0 KuPS
Legia Warsaw 0–1 Sparta Prague
Strasbourg 2–1 Crystal Palace
Shamrock Rovers 1–2 Shakhtar Donetsk
Matchday 5
Home teamScoreAway team
Fiorentina 2–1 Dynamo Kyiv
BK Häcken 1–1 AEK Larnaca
Breiðablik 3–1 Shamrock Rovers
Drita 0–3 AZ
Noah 2–1 Legia Warsaw
Jagiellonia Białystok 1–2 Rayo Vallecano
Shkëndija 2–0 Slovan Bratislava
Samsunspor 1–2 AEK Athens
Universitatea Craiova 1–2 Sparta Prague
Aberdeen 0–1 Strasbourg
Hamrun Spartans 0–2 Shakhtar Donetsk
Rijeka 3–0 Celje
Lech Poznań 1–1 Mainz 05
KuPS 0–0 Lausanne-Sport
Lincoln Red Imps 2–1 Sigma Olomouc
Raków Częstochowa 1–0 Zrinjski Mostar
Shelbourne 0–3 Crystal Palace
Rapid Wien 0–1 Omonia
Matchday 6
Home teamScoreAway team
Mainz 05 2–0 Samsunspor
Sparta Prague 3–0 Aberdeen
AEK Athens 3–2 Universitatea Craiova
AEK Larnaca 1–0 Shkëndija
AZ 0–0 Jagiellonia Białystok
Crystal Palace 2–2 KuPS
Shakhtar Donetsk 0–0 Rijeka
Dynamo Kyiv 2–0 Noah
Lausanne-Sport 1–0 Fiorentina
Zrinjski Mostar 1–1 Rapid Wien
Legia Warsaw 4–1 Lincoln Red Imps
Celje 0–0 Shelbourne
Omonia 0–1 Raków Częstochowa
Strasbourg 3–1 Breiðablik
Rayo Vallecano 3–0 Drita
Shamrock Rovers 3–1 Hamrun Spartans
Sigma Olomouc 1–2 Lech Poznań
Slovan Bratislava 1–0 BK Häcken

Knockout phase

Main article: 2025–26 UEFA Conference League knockout phase

In the knockout phase, teams will play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The bracket structure for the knockout phase is partially fixed in advance using seeding, with teams' positions in the bracket determined by the final standings in the league phase. In the knockout phase, there is no country protection, with teams from the same association able to face each other in any round. Teams can also face opponents they played during the league phase.

The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:[4]

  • In the draw for the knockout phase play-offs, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 9–16 were seeded, and the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 17–24 were unseeded. The draw was split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams hosted the second leg.
  • In the draw for the round of 16, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 1–8 were seeded, and the eight winners of the knockout phase play-offs were unseeded. Again, the draw was split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams hosted the second leg.

In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, both the exact match pairings and order of legs were predetermined based on the tournament bracket. The higher-seeded teams, assuming they advance, will play the second leg of each round at home. Should a seeded team be beaten, the team that eliminates them will assume their seeding position. The winner of semi-final 1 will be designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it is played at a neutral venue).

Bracket

Knockout phase play-offsRound of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
21 KuPS000
11 Lech Poznań 213 11 Lech Poznań123
6 Shakhtar Donetsk314
6 Shakhtar Donetsk
19 Noah101
14 AZ
14 AZ044 14 AZ246
4 Sparta Prague101
Winner QF1
23 Zrinjski Mostar101
Winner QF2
10 Crystal Palace123 10 Crystal Palace (a.e.t.)022
8 AEK Larnaca011
10 Crystal Palace
17 Jagiellonia Białystok044
15 Fiorentina
15 Fiorentina (a.e.t.)325 15 Fiorentina224
27 May – Leipzig
2 Raków Częstochowa112
Winner SF1
22 Shkëndija000
Winner SF2
12 Samsunspor145 12 Samsunspor112
5 Rayo Vallecano303
5 Rayo Vallecano
20 Drita224
3 AEK Athens
13 Celje336 13 Celje022
3 AEK Athens404
Winner QF3
24 Sigma Olomouc123
Winner QF4
9 Lausanne-Sport112 24 Sigma Olomouc000
7 Mainz 05022
7 Mainz 05
18 Omonia01 1
1 Strasbourg
16 Rijeka134 16 Rijeka112
1 Strasbourg213

Knockout phase play-offs

The draw for the knockout phase play-offs was held on 16 January 2026, 13:00 CET.[25] The first legs were played on 19 February, and the second legs were played on 26 February 2026.[26]

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
KuPS 0–3 Lech Poznań0–20–1
Noah 1–4 AZ1–00–4
Zrinjski Mostar 1–3 Crystal Palace1–10–2
Jagiellonia Białystok 4–5 Fiorentina0–34–2 (a.e.t.)
Shkëndija 0–5 Samsunspor0–10–4
Drita 4–6 Celje2–32–3
Sigma Olomouc 3–2 Lausanne-Sport1–12–1
Omonia 1–4 Rijeka0–11–3

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 27 February 2026, 14:00 CET.[27] The first legs were played on 12 March, and the second legs were played on 19 March 2026.[28]

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Lech Poznań 3–4 Shakhtar Donetsk1–32–1
AZ 6–1 Sparta Prague2–14–0
Crystal Palace 2–1 AEK Larnaca0–02–1 (a.e.t.)
Fiorentina 4–2 Raków Częstochowa2–12–1
Samsunspor 2–3 Rayo Vallecano1–31–0
Celje 2–4 AEK Athens0–42–0
Sigma Olomouc 0–2 Mainz 050–00–2
Rijeka 2–3 Strasbourg1–21–1

Quarter-finals

The first legs will be played on 9 April, and the second legs will be played on 16 April 2026.[29]

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 AZ9 Apr16 Apr
Crystal Palace 2 Fiorentina9 Apr16 Apr
Rayo Vallecano 3 AEK Athens9 Apr16 Apr
Mainz 05 4 Strasbourg9 Apr16 Apr

Semi-finals

The first legs will be played on 30 April, and the second legs will be played on 7 May 2026.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Winner QF11Winner QF230 Apr7 May
Winner QF32Winner QF430 Apr7 May

Final

Main article: 2026 UEFA Conference League final

The final will be played on 27 May 2026 at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. The winner of semi-final 1 was designated as the "home" team for administrative purposes.

Winner SF1 v Winner SF2

Statistics

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

Table correct as of 19 March 2026.

Top goalscorers

Rank[30] Player Team Goals Minutes played
1 Mikael Ishak Lech Poznań 8 742
Marius Mouandilmadji Samsunspor 821
3 Sven Mijnans AZ 6 819
4 Franko Kovačević Celje 5 482
Nardin Mulahusejnović Noah 601
Ismaïla Sarr Crystal Palace 653
Toni Fruk Rijeka 849
8 Martial Godo Strasbourg 4 483
Isak Jensen AZ 529
Aboubakary Koïta AEK Athens 549
Daniel Adu-Adjei Rijeka 605

See also

References

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  2. ^ "UEFA Europa Conference League to be renamed UEFA Conference League next season". Union of European Football Associations. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Budapest to host UEFA Champions League Final 2026". Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Regulations of the UEFA Conference League, 2024/25 Season". Nyon: UEFA. 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Association coefficients 2023/24". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
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  8. ^ "Palace lose appeal against demotion from Europa League". BBC Sport. 11 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Why are Forest set to take Palace's place in Europa League?". BBC Sport. BBC News. BBC. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Calpe City and Bruno Magpies merger begins in June as youth side look to secure their future again". Gibraltar Chronicle. 8 April 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Buducnost receives license, Petrovac's appeal rejected". Vijesti. 23 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Drogheda United's expulsion from Conference League confirmed as court appeal fails". The Irish Times. 16 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
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  15. ^ Duffek, Dominik (30 June 2025). "Slováci přišli o tým v pohárech. UEFA vyloučila Dunajskou Stredu kvůli majiteli". idnes.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2 July 2025.
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  17. ^ "New format for Champions League post-2024: Everything you need to know | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
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  19. ^ "UEFA club competition league phase draws to take place in Monaco on 28 and 29 August". UEFA. 19 August 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
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  21. ^ "UEFA Documents – Article 16 Draw system – league phase". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Ħamrun Spartans make history as first Maltese team to reach UEFA league phase". Times of Malta. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  23. ^ Papuga, Wojciech (28 August 2025). "Cztery polskie zespoły z szansami na grę w Lidze Konferencji. "To może przyczynić się do lepszych rozstawień w eliminacjach"". TVP Sport.
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  25. ^ "Knockout round play-off draw". UEFA. 16 January 2026. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
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  27. ^ "Round of 16 draw". UEFA. 27 February 2026. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  28. ^ "2025/26 UEFA Conference League knockout phase" (PDF). UEFA. 27 February 2026. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  29. ^ "2025/26 UEFA Conference League knockout phase: Quarter-finals" (PDF). UEFA. 19 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  30. ^ "UEFA Conference League – Top Scorers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
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