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2026–27 UEFA Conference League qualifying

Qualification phase of the 2026–27 UEFA Conference League From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026–27 UEFA Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round began on 7 July and will end on 27 August 2026.[1][2]

A total of 153 teams compete in the qualifying system of the 2026–27 UEFA Conference League, which consists of the qualifying phase and the play-off round. Of these, 20 teams enter through the Champions Path and 133 through the Main Path. The 24 winners of the play-off round advance to the league phase, where they join the 12 losers of the Europa League play-off round.[3][4]

Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

Format

The qualifying phase and play-off round are split into two paths – the Champions Path and the Main Path. The Champions Path contains teams which were eliminated from the Champions League Champions Path and the Europa League Champions Path, and the Main Path contains teams which qualify through their domestic league or as domestic cup winners as well as teams eliminated from the Europa League Main Path.

Each tie is played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the next round. If the aggregate score is level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time is played, and if the same number of goals is scored by both teams during extra time, the tie is decided by a penalty shoot-out.[5]

In the draws for each round, teams are 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 is 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 be known at the time of the draws, the seeding is carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advances to the subsequent round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient advances, it simply takes the seeding of its opponent.

Prior to the draws, UEFA can 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 cannot be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie can be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows. Matches are scheduled for Thursdays, though exceptionally could take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts.[2]

More information Round, Draw date ...
Schedule for 2026–27 UEFA Conference League
Round Draw date First leg Second leg
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-off round 3 August 2026 20 August 2026 27 August 2026
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Teams

Champions Path

The Champions Path includes league champions which were eliminated from the Champions Path qualifying phase of the Champions League and the Champions Path qualifying phase of the Europa League and consists of the following rounds:

  • Second qualifying round (12 teams): 12 of the 14 losers of the Champions League first qualifying round (two of the teams receive a bye to the third qualifying round).
  • Third qualifying round (8 teams): 6 winners of the second qualifying round, and 2 losers of the Champions League first qualifying round that receive a bye.
  • Play-off round (10 teams): 4 winners of the third qualifying round, and 6 losers of the Europa League Champions Path third qualifying round.

Below are the participating teams of the Champions Path (with their 2026 UEFA club coefficients, not used as seeding for the Champions Path, however),[6] grouped by their starting rounds.

More information Key to colours ...
Key to colours
Winners of play-off round advance to league phase
Teams eliminated
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More information Team, Coeff. ...
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Notes
  1. UEL CH Q3 Losers of Europa League third qualifying round (Champions Path).
  2. UCL Q1 Losers of Champions League first qualifying round.

Main Path

The Main Path includes league non-champions and domestic cup winners and consists of the following rounds:

Below are the participating teams of the League Path (with their 2026 UEFA club coefficients),[6] grouped by their starting rounds.

More information Key to colours ...
Key to colours
Winners of play-off round advance to league phase
Teams eliminated
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More information Team, Coeff. ...
Play-off round
Team Coeff.[6]
Italy Atalanta 84.000
Scotland Rangers [UEL MP Q3] 59.250
Germany SC Freiburg 56.500
France Monaco 56.000
Greece PAOK [UEL MP Q3] 48.250
Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv [UEL MP Q3] 32.500
Cyprus Pafos [UEL MP Q3] 24.125
England Brighton & Hove Albion 23.903
Spain Getafe 19.409
Scotland Heart of Midlothian [UEL MP Q3] 11.500
Czech Republic Hradec Králové[UEL MP Q3] 9.705
Poland Górnik Zabrze [UEL MP Q3] 9.350
Third qualifying round
Team Coeff.[6]
Denmark Midtjylland [UEL MP Q2] 48.250
Azerbaijan Qarabağ [UEL MP Q2] 42.750
Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol [UEL MP Q2] 20.000
Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv [UEL MP Q2] 17.500
Netherlands Twente [UEL MP Q2] 13.585
Croatia Hajduk Split [UEL MP Q2] 10.000
Norway Tromsø [UEL MP Q2] 8.247
Switzerland St Gallen [UEL MP Q2] 6.940
Sweden Hammarby [UEL MP Q2] 6.000
Second qualifying round
Team Coeff.[6]
Portugal Braga 63.750
Netherlands Ajax 58.250
Denmark Copenhagen 54.375
Belgium Gent 39.000
Austria Rapid Wien 29.750
Greece Panathinaikos 29.250
Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 28.750
Romania FCSB 25.500
Poland Raków Częstochowa 22.250
Serbia Partizan 22.000
Switzerland Lugano 21.250
Cyprus AEK Larnaca 20.250
Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir 19.500
Croatia Rijeka 18.625
Romania CFR Cluj 17.500
Finland HJK 14.000
Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar 13.250
Norway Brann 12.250
Armenia Noah 10.750
Slovakia Spartak Trnava 10.500
Czech Republic Jablonec 9.705
Austria Austria Wien 9.500
Poland GKS Katowice 9.350
Liechtenstein Vaduz 8.500
Denmark Nordsjælland 8.421
Kazakhstan Tobol 8.000
Cyprus Apollon Limassol 7.138
Scotland Hibernian 7.000
Faroe Islands HB 7.000
Switzerland Sion 6.940
Lithuania Panevėžys 6.500
Azerbaijan Neftçi 6.500
Scotland Motherwell 6.410
Slovakia DAC Dunajská Streda 6.000
Sweden GAIS 5.925
Sweden IFK Göteborg 5.925
Croatia Varaždin 5.631
Israel Beitar Jerusalem 5.500
Slovakia Žilina [UEL MP Q1] 5.500
Serbia Vojvodina [UEL MP Q1] 5.500
Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv 5.500
Hungary Paks 5.437
Hungary Debrecen 5.437
Ukraine Polissya Zhytomyr 5.182
Ukraine LNZ Cherkasy 5.182
Serbia Železničar Pančevo 5.150
Romania Universitatea Cluj [UEL MP Q1] 5.050
Slovenia Koper 4.893
Slovenia Bravo 4.893
Slovenia Aluminij [UEL MP Q1] 4.893
Moldova Zimbru Chișinău 4.500
Iceland Valur 4.500
Latvia Auda 4.500
Bulgaria CSKA 1948 4.212
Republic of Ireland Shelbourne 4.000
Republic of Ireland Derry City [UEL MP Q1] 4.000
Iceland Vestri [UEL MP Q1] 3.304
Kosovo Dukagjini 2.797
Malta Valletta 1.800
Northern Ireland Coleraine 1.450
First qualifying round
Team Coeff.[6]
Latvia RFS 12.500
Kazakhstan Astana 12.500
Lithuania Žalgiris 12.000
North Macedonia Shkëndija 10.875
Kosovo Ballkani 10.000
Armenia Pyunik 10.000
Northern Ireland Linfield 9.500
Malta Hamrun Spartans 8.500
Moldova Milsami Orhei 7.500
Estonia FCI Levadia 7.500
Estonia Paide Linnameeskond 7.500
Luxembourg Differdange 03 6.500
Belarus Dinamo Minsk 6.500
Albania Vllaznia 6.500
Faroe Islands Víkingur 6.000
San Marino La Fiorita 6.000
Azerbaijan Zira 5.500
Montenegro Dečić 5.500
Georgia (country) Dila Gori 5.500
Belarus BATE Borisov 5.500
Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 5.000
Andorra Atlètic Club d'Escaldes 5.000
Gibraltar St Joseph's 5.000
Andorra FC Santa Coloma 5.000
Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi 5.000
Armenia Alashkert 5.000
Georgia (country) Torpedo Kutaisi 4.500
Bosnia and Herzegovina Velež Mostar 4.500
San Marino Virtus 4.000
Latvia Liepāja 4.000
Finland Ilves 3.500
Wales Connah's Quay Nomads 3.500
Republic of Ireland Bohemians 3.468
Iceland Stjarnan 3.304
Gibraltar Europa 3.000
Finland Inter Turku 2.800
Kosovo Malisheva 2.797
Kazakhstan Yelimay 2.750
Albania Dinamo City 2.500
Luxembourg UNA Strassen 2.500
Lithuania Hegelmann 2.000
Wales Penybont 2.000
Faroe Islands NSÍ 2.000
North Macedonia Sileks 2.000
Montenegro Mornar 2.000
Northern Ireland Glentoran 2.000
Malta Marsaxlokk 1.800
Estonia Nõmme Kalju 1.641
Albania Elbasani 1.625
Wales Caernarfon Town 1.500
Luxembourg Mondorf-les-Bains 1.325
Montenegro Petrovac 1.316
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Notes
  1. UEL MP Q3 Losers of Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path).
  2. UEL MP Q2 Losers of Europa League second qualifying round (Main Path).
  3. UEL MP Q1 Losers of Europa League first qualifying round (Main Path).

First qualifying round

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 16 June 2026.[7]

Seeding

A total of 52 teams played in the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients.[6] Before the draw, UEFA allocated the teams into five groups: four groups of five seeded teams and five unseeded teams, and one group of six seeded teams and six unseeded teams, in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. UEFA pre-assigned numbers to the teams so that the draw could be conducted in one run for the four groups consisting of five seeded and five unseeded teams each. The remaining group, consisting of six seeded and six unseeded teams, was drawn separately. The team represented by the ball drawn first was designated as the home team for the first leg.

More information Group 1, Group 2 ...
Main Path
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded
Group 4 Group 5
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded
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Summary

The first legs were played on 7, 8 and 9 July, and the second legs were played on 14, 15 and 16 July 2026.

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

Notes:
  1. Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Matches

Second qualifying round

The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 17 June 2026.[8]

Seeding

A total of 98 teams played in the second qualifying round: 12 in the Champions Path and 86 in the Main Path. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients.[6] 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. For the losers of the Champions League first qualifying round and the Europa League first qualifying round, the club coefficient of the lower-ranked team in each tie was used. Before the draw, UEFA divided the teams and/or pairings into groups in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. In the Champions Path, the 12 pairings were divided into two groups, each containing three seeded and three unseeded pairings. In the Main Path, the 86 teams and/or pairings were divided into nine groups: seven groups of ten and two groups of eight, each with an equal number of seeded and unseeded teams and/or pairings. For the Main Path draw, the entries in each group were randomly assigned numbers so that the draw could be conducted in two runs: one for Groups 1 to 7, in which seeded entries were assigned numbers 1 to 5 and unseeded entries numbers 6 to 10, and one for Groups 8 and 9, in which seeded entries were assigned numbers 1 to 4 and unseeded entries numbers 5 to 8. The team or pairing represented by the ball drawn first was designated as the home team for the first leg.

More information Group 1, Group 2 ...
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More information Group 1, Group 2 ...
Main Path
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded
Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded
Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded
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Notes
  1. Losers of the Champions League first 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.
  2. †† 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.
  3. ††† Losers of the Europa League first 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.
  4. Following the exclusion of Karviná from UEFA Europa League and the subsequent adjustment of the Czech clubs' access places, Hradec Králové was moved to the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round and was replaced by Jablonec. Jablonec therefore effectively inherited the seeded status associated with Hradec Králové's place in the draw.

Summary

The first legs were played on 21, 22 and 23 July, and the second legs were played on 28, 29 and 30 July 2026.

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

More information Team 1, Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score ...
Second qualifying round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Path
Tre Fiori San MarinoByeN/A
Inter Club d'Escaldes AndorraByeN/A
Borac Banja Luka Bosnia and Herzegovina6–3Moldova Petrocub Hîncești3–03–3
Atert Bissen Luxembourg3–7Hungary ETO Győr2–61–1
ML Vitebsk Belarus5–1Montenegro Sutjeska3–02–1
Flora Estonia1–1 (4–2 p)Wales The New Saints1–00–1 (a.e.t.)
Floriana Malta2–3Kosovo Drita1–11–2 (a.e.t.)
Vardar North Macedonia4–8Latvia Riga2–32–5 (a.e.t.)
Main Path
Rijeka Croatia2–0Republic of Ireland Derry City1–01–0
İstanbul Başakşehir Turkey1–3Finland Inter Turku1–10–2
Lugano Switzerland6–1Kosovo Dukagjini1–05–1
HJK Finland8–0Northern Ireland Coleraine5–03–0
FCSB Romania3–7Latvia Auda2–31–4
RFS Latvia5–2Iceland Vestri4–11–1
Raków Częstochowa Poland7–1Malta Valletta3–14–0
Liepāja Latvia1–5Austria Austria Wien0–21–3
Debrecen Hungary1–0Armenia Pyunik1–00–0
GAIS Sweden1–6Denmark Nordsjælland1–00–6
IFK Göteborg Sweden4–3Estonia FCI Levadia1–23–1 (a.e.t.)
Žilina Slovakia3–4Poland GKS Katowice2–11–3
Varaždin Croatia3–4Czech Republic Jablonec3–20–2
Dila Gori Georgia (country)0–7Cyprus Apollon Limassol0–40–3
Bravo Slovenia3–4North Macedonia Shkëndija2–11–3
Universitatea Cluj Romania3–5Norway Brann2–21–3
Shelbourne Republic of Ireland6–4Estonia Nõmme Kalju5–21–2
Valur Iceland3–2Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar1–02–2
Zimbru Chișinău Moldova2–3Armenia Noah1–11–2
Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia (country)5–7Lithuania Žalgiris3–02–7
Aluminij Slovenia1–4Albania Dinamo City1–10–3
DAC Dunajská Streda Slovakia4–0Bosnia and Herzegovina Velež Mostar1–03–0
BATE Borisov Belarus1–5Switzerland Sion1–10–4
Stjarnan Iceland2–2 (4–5 p)Finland Ilves1–01–2 (a.e.t.)
Motherwell Scotland5–0Faroe Islands HB2–03–0
Panevėžys Lithuania2–2 (2–3 p)Kazakhstan Tobol1–11–1 (a.e.t.)
Malisheva Kosovo3–4Scotland Hibernian2–01–4
Neftçi Azerbaijan3–4Belarus Dinamo Minsk2–41–0
Paks Hungary3–4Greece Panathinaikos1–22–2
Železničar Pančevo Serbia0–5Portugal Braga0–10–4
Vojvodina Serbia2–8Netherlands Ajax1–41–4
Polissya Zhytomyr Ukraine4–5Denmark Copenhagen3–31–2
LNZ Cherkasy Ukraine0–0 (2–4 p)Belgium Gent0–00–0 (a.e.t.)
FC Santa Coloma Andorra3–9Austria Rapid Wien1–32–6
Hapoel Tel Aviv Israel4–2Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad2–02–2
Alashkert Armenia1–4Romania CFR Cluj1–10–3
Bohemians Republic of Ireland4–4 (5–4 p)Kosovo Ballkani2–12–3 (a.e.t.)
Paide Linnameeskond Estonia2–1Azerbaijan Zira1–01–1
Vaduz Liechtenstein6–0Andorra Atlètic Club d'Escaldes4–02–0
Spartak Trnava Slovakia0–0 (3–5 p)Bulgaria CSKA 19480–00–0 (a.e.t.)
NSÍ Faroe Islands3–3 (4–3 p)Slovenia Koper0–23–1 (a.e.t.)
AEK Larnaca Cyprus3–3 (3–4 p)Israel Beitar Jerusalem0–13–2 (a.e.t.)
Partizan Serbia5–0Luxembourg UNA Strassen4–01–0
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Matches

Third qualifying round

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 20 July 2026.[9]

Seeding

A total of 60 teams played in the third qualifying round: eight in the Champions Path and 52 in the Main Path. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients.[6] 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 team in each tie was used. For the losers of the Europa League second qualifying round, the club coefficient of the lower-ranked team in each tie was used. Before the draw, UEFA divided the teams and/or pairings into groups in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. In the Champions Path, the eight teams and/or pairings were divided into two groups of four, each containing two seeded and two unseeded entries. In the Main Path, the 52 teams and/or pairings were divided into six groups: four groups of eight and two groups of ten, each with an equal number of seeded and unseeded entries. For the Main Path draw, the entries in each group were randomly assigned numbers so that the draw could be conducted in two runs: one for Groups 1 to 4, in which seeded entries were assigned numbers 1 to 4 and unseeded entries numbers 5 to 8, and one for Groups 5 and 6, in which seeded entries were assigned numbers 1 to 5 and unseeded entries numbers 6 to 10. In each tie, the team or pairing represented by the ball drawn first was designated as the home team for the first leg.

More information Group 1, Group 2 ...
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Notes
  1. 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.
  2. †† Losers of the Europa 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.

Summary

The first legs were played on 4, 5 and 6 August, and the second legs were played on 11, 12 and 13 August 2026.

The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round.

Notes:
  1. Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Matches

Play-off round

The draw for the play-off round was held on 3 August 2026.[10]

Seeding

A total of 48 teams play in the play-off round: ten in the Champions Path and 38 in the Main Path. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients.[6] 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 team in each tie was used. For the losers of the Europa League third qualifying round, the club coefficient of the lower-ranked team in each tie was used. Before the draw, UEFA divided the teams and/or pairings into groups in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. In the Champions Path, the ten pairings were divided into one group of four and one group of six, each containing an equal number of seeded and unseeded pairings. In the Main Path, the 38 teams and/or pairings were divided into three groups of ten and one group of eight, each with an equal number of seeded and unseeded entries. For the Main Path draw, the entries in each group were randomly assigned numbers so that the draw could be conducted in two runs: one for Groups 1 to 3, in which seeded entries were assigned numbers 1 to 5 and unseeded entries numbers 6 to 10, and one for Group 4, in which seeded entries were assigned numbers 1 to 4 and unseeded entries numbers 5 to 8. In each tie, the team or pairing represented by the ball drawn first was designated as the home team for the first leg.

More information Group 1, Group 2 ...
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Notes
  1. Winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
  2. †† Losers of the Europa League third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics lost to a team with a lower coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.

Summary

The first legs will be played on 20 August, and the second legs will be played on 26 and 27 August 2026.

The winners of the ties advance to the league phase.

Matches

References

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