2024–25 UEFA Europa League qualifying
European football tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2024–25 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round began on 11 July and ended on 29 August 2024.[1]
A total of 52 teams competed in the qualifying system, which included the qualifying phase and the play-off round. The 12 winners of the play-off round advanced to the league phase, to join the 13 teams that entered in the league stage, along with the seven losers of the Champions League play-off round (five from the Champions Path and two from the League Path), and the four losers of the Champions League third qualifying round (League Path).[2]
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Format
The qualifying phase was split into two paths – the Champions Path and the Main Path. The Champions Path contained teams which were eliminated from the Champions League Champions Path, and the Main Path contained teams which qualified as the third-placed or the fourth-placed team from their domestic league or as domestic cup winners. The paths were merged in the play-off round.
Each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time was played, and if the same number of goals was scored by both teams during extra time, the tie was decided by a penalty shoot-out.[3]
In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round may not have been known at the time of the draws, the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to the subsequent round. In practice, this meant if the team with the lower coefficient advanced in the Europa League or the team with the higher coefficient was eliminated from the Champions League, it would simply take the seeding of its opponent.
Prior to the draws, UEFA could form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, purely for the convenience of the draw and not to resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA could not be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie could be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows. Matches were scheduled for Thursdays, though exceptionally could take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts.[1]
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round | 18 June 2024 | 11 July 2024 | 18 July 2024 |
| Second qualifying round | 19 June 2024 | 25 July 2024 | 1 August 2024 |
| Third qualifying round | 22 July 2024 | 8 August 2024 | 15 August 2024 |
| Play-off round | 5 August 2024 | 22 August 2024 | 29 August 2024 |
Teams
In the qualifying stage, the teams were divided into two paths:
- Champions Path (12 teams):
- Third qualifying round: 12 losers of the Champions League Champions Path second qualifying round.
- Main Path:
- First qualifying round (12 teams): 12 teams which entered in this round.
- Second qualifying round (18 teams): 12 teams which entered in this round, and 6 winners of the first qualifying round.
- Third qualifying round (14 teams): 3 teams which entered in this round, 2 losers of the Champions League League Path second qualifying round, and 9 winners of the second qualifying round.
The winners of the third qualifying round were combined into a single path for the play-off round:
- Play-off round (24 teams): 5 teams which entered this round, 6 losers of the Champions League Champions Path third qualifying round, 6 winners of the Champions Path third qualifying round, and 7 winners of the Main Path third qualifying round.
All teams eliminated from the qualifying phase and play-off round entered the Conference League:
- The 6 losers of the Main Path first qualifying round entered the Main Path second qualifying round.
- The 9 losers of the Main Path second qualifying round entered the Main Path third qualifying round.
- The 6 losers of the Champions Path third qualifying round entered the Champions Path play-off round.
- The 7 losers of the Main Path third qualifying round entered the Main Path play-off round.
- The 12 losers of the play-off round entered the league phase.
Below were the participating teams (with their 2024 UEFA club coefficients, not used as seeding for the Champions Path, however),[4] grouped by their starting rounds.
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Winners of play-off round advanced to league phase |
| Losers of play-off round entered Conference League league phase |
| Losers of third qualifying round entered Conference League play-off round |
| Losers of second qualifying round entered Conference League third qualifying round |
| Losers of first qualifying round entered Conference League second qualifying round |
- Notes
- CH Q3 Losers of Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path).
- CH Q2 Losers of Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path).
- LP Q2 Losers of Champions League second qualifying round (League Path).
First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 18 June 2024.
Seeding
A total of 12 teams played in the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
Summary
The first legs were played on 11 July, and the second legs were played on 18 July 2024.
The winners of the ties advanced to the second qualifying round. The losers were transferred to the Conference League Main Path second qualifying round.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Botev Plovdiv  | 4–3 |  Maribor | 2–1 | 2–2 |
IF Elfsborg  | 8–2 |  Pafos | 3–0 | 5–2 |
Paks  | 2–4 |  Corvinul Hunedoara | 0–4 | 2–0 |
Sheriff Tiraspol  | 2–2 (5–4 p) |  Zira | 0–1 | 2–1 (a.e.t.) |
Wisła Kraków  | 4–1[a] |  Llapi | 2–0 | 2–1 |
Ružomberok  | 5–3 |  Tobol | 5–2 | 0–1 |
- Order of legs reversed after original draw.
Matches
Botev Plovdiv won 4–3 on aggregate.
IF Elfsborg won 8–2 on aggregate.
| Paks | 0–4 | Corvinul Hunedoara |
|---|---|---|
| Report[13] |
|
Corvinul Hunedoara won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–1 | Zira |
|---|---|---|
| Report[17] |
|
2–2 on aggregate; Sheriff Tiraspol won 5–4 on penalties.
| Wisła Kraków | 2–0 | Llapi |
|---|---|---|
| Report[21] |
Wisła Kraków won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Tobol | 1–0 | Ružomberok |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[28] |
Ružomberok won 5–3 on aggregate.
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2024.
Seeding
A total of 18 teams played in the second qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] For the winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie was used. Prior to the draw, UEFA formed groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
- Notes
- † Winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 25 July, and the second legs were played on 1 August 2024.
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.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ajax  | 4–1 |  Vojvodina | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Ružomberok | 0–3 |  Trabzonspor | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Wisła Kraków | 2–8 |  Rapid Wien | 1–2 | 1–6 |
Kilmarnock  | 1–2 |  Cercle Brugge | 1–1 | 0–1 |
Molde  | 5–4 |  Silkeborg | 3–1 | 2–3 |
| Corvinul Hunedoara | 0–1 |  Rijeka | 0–0 | 0–1 |
Braga  | 7–0 |  Maccabi Petah Tikva | 2–0 | 5–0 |
Panathinaikos  | 6–1 | Botev Plovdiv | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–3 | IF Elfsborg | 0–1 | 0–2 |
Matches
| Ajax | 1–0 | Vojvodina |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[30] |
Ajax won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Ružomberok | 0–2 | Trabzonspor |
|---|---|---|
| Report[35] |
Trabzonspor won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Wisła Kraków | 1–2 | Rapid Wien |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[39] |
Rapid Wien won 8–2 on aggregate.
| Kilmarnock | 1–1 | Cercle Brugge |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[43] |
|
Cercle Brugge won 2–1 on aggregate.
Molde won 5–4 on aggregate.
| Corvinul Hunedoara | 0–0 | Rijeka |
|---|---|---|
| Report[51] |
Rijeka won 1–0 on aggregate.
Braga won 7–0 on aggregate.
| Panathinaikos | 2–1 | Botev Plovdiv |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[60] |
|
| Botev Plovdiv | 0–4 | Panathinaikos |
|---|---|---|
| Report[62] |
|
Panathinaikos won 6–1 on aggregate.
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–1 | IF Elfsborg |
|---|---|---|
| Report[64] |
IF Elfsborg won 3–0 on aggregate.
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 22 July 2024.
Seeding
A total of 26 teams played in the third qualifying round – 12 in the Champions Path and 14 in the Main Path. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] For the winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie was used. For the losers of the Champions League second qualifying round, the club coefficient of the lower-ranked team in each tie was used. Prior to the draw, UEFA formed groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
- Notes
- † Losers of the Champions League second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics lost to a team with a lower coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
- †† Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 6 and 8 August, and the second legs were played on 13, 14 and 15 August 2024.
The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round. The Champions Path losers were transferred to the Conference League Champions Path play-off round, while the Main Path losers were transferred to the Conference League Main Path play-off round.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions Path | ||||
KÍ  | 3–4 |  Borac Banja Luka | 2–1 | 1–3 (a.e.t.) |
UE Santa Coloma  | 0–9 |  RFS | 0–2 | 0–7 |
| Celje | 2–3 |  Shamrock Rovers | 1–0 | 1–3 (a.e.t.) |
Panevėžys  | 1–5 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Petrocub Hîncești | 1–0 |  The New Saints | 1–0 | 0–0 |
Dinamo Minsk  | 3–2 |  Lincoln Red Imps | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Main Path | ||||
| Partizan | 2–3 |  Lugano | 0–1 | 2–2 (a.e.t.) |
| Molde | 3–1 | Cercle Brugge | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Panathinaikos | 1–1 (12–13 p) | Ajax | 0–1 | 1–0 (a.e.t.) |
| Trabzonspor | 0–3 | Rapid Wien | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Braga | 2–1 | Servette | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Rijeka | 1–3 | IF Elfsborg | 1–1 | 0–2 |
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih  | 1–3 |  Viktoria Plzeň | 1–2 | 0–1 |
Champions Path matches
| KÍ | 2–1 | Borac Banja Luka |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[68] |
|
Borac Banja Luka won 4–3 on aggregate.
| UE Santa Coloma | 0–2 | RFS |
|---|---|---|
| Report[72] |
|
RFS won 9–0 on aggregate.
| Celje | 1–0 | Shamrock Rovers |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[76] |
Shamrock Rovers won 3–2 on aggregate.
Maccabi Tel Aviv won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Petrocub Hîncești | 1–0 | The New Saints |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[84] |
| The New Saints | 0–0 | Petrocub Hîncești |
|---|---|---|
| Report[86] |
Petrocub Hîncești won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Dinamo Minsk | 2–0 | Lincoln Red Imps |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[88] |
Dinamo Minsk won 3–2 on aggregate.
Main Path matches
Lugano won 3–2 on aggregate.
Molde won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Panathinaikos | 0–1 | Ajax |
|---|---|---|
| Report[103] |
|
1–1 on aggregate; Ajax won 13–12 on penalties.
| Trabzonspor | 0–1 | Rapid Wien |
|---|---|---|
| Report[107] |
|
Rapid Wien won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Servette | 1–2 | Braga |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[113] |
|
Braga won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Rijeka | 1–1 | IF Elfsborg |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[115] |
|
IF Elfsborg won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 1–2 | Viktoria Plzeň |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[119] |
Viktoria Plzeň won 3–1 on aggregate.
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 August 2024.
Seeding
A total of 24 teams played in the play-off round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2024 UEFA club coefficients.[4] For the winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie was used. For the losers of the Champions League third qualifying round, the club coefficient of the lower-ranked team in each tie was used. Before the draw, UEFA formed groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
- Notes
- † Losers of the Champions League third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics lost to a team with a lower coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
- †† Winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 22 August, and the second legs were played on 29 August 2024.
The winners of the ties advanced to the league phase. The losers were transferred to the Conference League league phase.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Minsk | 0–2 | Anderlecht | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Jagiellonia Białystok | 1–7 | Ajax | 1–4 | 0–3 |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 6–1 | Petrocub Hîncești | 4–0 | 2–1 |
| Lugano | 4–8 | Beşiktaş | 3–3 | 1–5 |
| LASK | 1–2 | FCSB | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| RFS | 3–3 (4–2 p) | APOEL | 2–1 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 8–1 | TSC | 3–0 | 5–1 |
| PAOK | 6–0 | Shamrock Rovers | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Ferencváros | 1–1 (3–2 p) | Borac Banja Luka | 0–0 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Molde | 1–1 (2–4 p) | IF Elfsborg | 0–1 | 1–0 (a.e.t.) |
| Braga | 4–3 | Rapid Wien | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Viktoria Plzeň | 2–0 | Heart of Midlothian | 1–0 | 1–0 |
Matches
| Dinamo Minsk | 0–1 | Anderlecht |
|---|---|---|
| Report[124] |
|
Anderlecht won 2–0 on aggregate.
Ajax won 7–1 on aggregate.
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 4–0 | Petrocub Hîncești |
|---|---|---|
| Report[132] |
Ludogorets Razgrad won 6–1 on aggregate.
Beşiktaş won 8–4 on aggregate.
FCSB won 2–1 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate; RFS won 4–2 on penalties.
Maccabi Tel Aviv won 8–1 on aggregate.
| PAOK | 4–0 | Shamrock Rovers |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[153] |
PAOK won 6–0 on aggregate.
| Ferencváros | 0–0 | Borac Banja Luka |
|---|---|---|
| Report[157] |
1–1 on aggregate; Ferencváros won 3–2 on penalties.
| Molde | 0–1 | IF Elfsborg |
|---|---|---|
| Report[161] |
|
1–1 on aggregate; IF Elfsborg won 4–2 on penalties.
| Braga | 2–1 | Rapid Wien |
|---|---|---|
| Report[165] |
|
Braga won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Viktoria Plzeň | 1–0 | Heart of Midlothian |
|---|---|---|
| Report[169] |
Viktoria Plzeň won 2–0 on aggregate.
Notes
- Pafos played their home match at the Alphamega Stadium in Limassol, instead of their regular stadium, the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, in Paphos, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
- Corvinul Hunedoara played their home matches at the Sibiu Municipal Stadium in Sibiu, instead of their regular stadium, the Michael Klein Stadium, in Hunedoara, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
- Zira played their home match at the Dalga Arena in Baku, instead of their regular stadium, the Zira Olympic Sport Complex Stadium, in Zirə, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
- The Llapi v Wisła Kraków match was played behind closed doors due to a punishment by UEFA to Llapi for racist behaviour of fans and pitch invasion during a match against Budućnost Podgorica in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase.[25]
- Vojvodina played their home match at the TSC Arena, in Bačka Topola, instead of their regular stadium, the Karađorđe Stadium, in Novi Sad, due to new turf being laid.[33]
- KÍ played their home match at Tórsvøllur, in Tórshavn, instead of their regular stadium, Við Djúpumýrar, in Klaksvík, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
- Panevėžys played their home match at the LFF Stadium in Vilnius, instead of their regular stadium, the Aukštaitija Stadium, in Panevėžys, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
- Petrocub Hîncești played their home matches at the Zimbru Stadium in Chișinău, instead of their regular stadium, the Stadionul Municipal, in Hîncești, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
- Due to the country's involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarusian teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues and behind closed doors until further notice.[89]
- Lincoln Red Imps played their home match at Europa Sports Park, instead of the Victoria Stadium, due to renovation works.[92]
- Lugano played their home matches at the Stockhorn Arena, in Thun, instead of their regular stadium, the Cornaredo Stadium, in Lugano, due to renovation works.[97]
- Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[120]
- FCSB played their home match at the Steaua Stadium, instead of their regular stadium, the Arena Națională, as it was being used for a series of concerts including Ed Sheeran.[143]