The 2024–25 UEFA Europa League will be the 54th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 16th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. This will be the first season played under a new format, which replaces the 32-team group stage with a 36-team league phase.[1] The new format also does not allow teams to transfer from the Champions League knockout stage to the Europa League knockout stage, and thus Europa League winners (Atalanta in the 2023–24 edition) cannot defend their title.
The final will be played on 21 May 2025 at San Mamés stadium in Bilbao, Spain.[2] The winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League will automatically qualify for the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League league phase and earn the right to play against the winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League in the 2025 UEFA Super Cup.
Association team allocation
A total of 76 teams from between 32 and 47 of the 55 UEFA member associations are expected to participate in the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League. Among them, 32 associations have teams directly qualifying for the Europa League, while up to 15 associations that do not have any teams directly qualifying may have teams playing after being transferred from the Champions League. The association ranking based on the UEFA association coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[3]
- The title holders of the Europa Conference League will be given an entry in the Europa League (if they do 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.
- 32 teams eliminated from the 2024–25 Champions League will be transferred to the Europa League.
Association ranking
For the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2023 UEFA association coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2018–19 to 2022–23.[4]
Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Europa League, as noted below:
- (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
- (UECL) – Additional berth for 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League title holders
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Distribution
| Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from the previous round | Teams transferred from Champions League | ||
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| First qualifying round (12 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round (18 teams) |
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| Third qualifying round (26 teams) |
Champions path (12 teams) |
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| League path (14 teams) |
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| Play-off round (24 teams) |
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| League phase (36 teams) |
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The information here reflects the ongoing suspension of Russia in European football, and so the following changes to the default access list have been made:
- The cup winners of association 16 (Norway) will enter the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
As the Europa League title holders (Atalanta) qualified for the Champions League via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the following changes to the default access list have been made:
- The cup winners of associations 17 to 21 (except Russia)[Note RUS] (Denmark, Croatia, Greece and Israel) will enter 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:
- UECL: Europa Conference League title holders
- CW: Cup winners
- 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.: League position of the previous season
- UCL: 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 is divided into Champions Path (CH) and Main Path (MP).
- ^ 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.[5] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[6]
- ^
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[7] 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. Compared to past seasons, one exclusive week will be held on September 25 and 26.[8][9][10]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | 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-offs | Play-off round | 5 August 2024 | 22 August 2024 | 29 August 2024 |
| League phase | Matchday 1 | 30 August 2024 | 25–26 September 2024 | |
| Matchday 2 | 3 October 2024 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 24 October 2024 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 7 November 2024 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 28 November 2024 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 12 December 2024 | |||
| Matchday 7 | 23 January 2025 | |||
| Matchday 8 | 30 January 2025 | |||
| Knockout phase | Knockout round play-offs | 31 January 2025 | 13 February 2025 | 20 February 2025 |
| Round of 16 | 21 February 2025 | 6 March 2025 | 13 March 2025 | |
| Quarter-finals | 10 April 2025 | 17 April 2025 | ||
| Semi-finals | 1 May 2025 | 8 May 2025 | ||
| Final | 21 May 2025 at San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao | |||
Qualifying rounds
First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 18 June 2024. 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. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Botev Plovdiv  | 4–3 |  Maribor | 2–1 | 2–2 |
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.
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2024. 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. | 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 | Elfsborg | 0–1 | 0–2 |
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 22 July 2024. The first legs will be played on 6 and 8 August, and the second legs will be played on 13, 14 and 15 August 2024.
The winners of the ties will advance to the play-off round. The Champions Path losers will be transferred to the Conference League Champions Path play-off round, while the Main Path losers will be transferred to the Conference League Main Path play-off round.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions Path | ||||
KÍ  | Match 1 |  Borac Banja Luka | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
UE Santa Coloma  | Match 2 |  RFS | 8 Aug | 14 Aug |
| Celje | Match 3 |  Shamrock Rovers | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
Panevėžys  | Match 4 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1–2 | 15 Aug |
| Petrocub Hîncești | Match 5 |  The New Saints | 1–0 | 13 Aug |
Dinamo Minsk  | Match 6 |  Lincoln Red Imps | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
| Main Path | ||||
| Partizan | Match 1 |  Lugano | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
| Molde | Match 2 | Cercle Brugge | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
| Panathinaikos | Match 3 | Ajax | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
| Trabzonspor | Match 4 | Rapid Wien | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
| Braga | Match 5 | Servette | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
| Rijeka | Match 6 | Elfsborg | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih  | Match 7 |  Viktoria Plzeň | 8 Aug | 15 Aug |
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 August 2024. The first legs will be played on 22 August, and the second legs will be played on 29 August 2024.
The winners of the ties will advance to the league phase. The losers will be transferred to the Conference League league phase.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner of Q3 CH match 6 | Match 1 | Anderlecht | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Loser of UCL Q3 CH match 6 | Match 2 | Winner of Q3 MP match 3 | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Loser of UCL Q3 CH match 1 | Match 3 | Winner of Q3 CH match 5 | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Winner of Q3 MP match 1 | Match 4 | Beşiktaş | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| LASK | Match 5 | Loser of UCL Q3 CH match 3 | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Winner of Q3 CH match 2 | Match 6 | Loser of UCL Q3 CH match 2 | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Winner of Q3 CH match 4 | Match 7 | TSC | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Loser of UCL Q3 CH match 4 | Match 8 | Winner of Q3 CH match 3 | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Loser of UCL Q3 CH match 5 | Match 9 | Winner of Q3 CH match 1 | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Winner of Q3 MP match 2 | Match 10 | Winner of Q3 MP match 6 | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Winner of Q3 MP match 5 | Match 11 | Winner of Q3 MP match 4 | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
| Winner of Q3 MP match 7 | Match 12 | Heart of Midlothian | 22 Aug | 29 Aug |
League phase
The draw, which will determine the pairings for the league phase, will be held on 30 August 2024. The 36 teams will be divided into four pots of nine clubs. The pots will be composed according to the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season.[11]
Each team will play eight games, four at home and four away, against eight different teams (two from each pot). In principle, teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other and each team may play against a maximum of two opponents from any other one association.[11]
| Pot 1 | Pot TBD |
|---|---|
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Teams ranked 1st–8th qualify directly for the round of 16 in the knockout stage, while the teams ranked 9th–24th compete in a playoff round, with the eight winners advancing to the round of 16. In this playoff round, the teams ranked 9th–16th are seeded. Teams ranked 25th–36th are eliminated from all competitions, with no access to the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League.[12]
Final
See also
- 2024–25 UEFA Champions League
- 2024–25 UEFA Conference League
- 2025 UEFA Super Cup
- 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League
- 2024–25 UEFA Youth League
References
- ^ "UEFA approves final format and access list for its club competitions as of the 2024/25 season". UEFA.com. 10 May 2022.
- ^ "Venues appointed for club competition finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Regulations of the UEFA Europa League, 2024/25 Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Association coefficients 2022/23". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC.co.uk. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs" (Press release). Nyon: UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "UEFA club competitions cycle 2024–27 ("Post 2024")". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 36/2023. Union of European Football Associations. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ UEFA.com (25 October 2023). "New format for Champions League post-2024: Everything you need to know | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Sheldon, Dan. "How the new Champions League format works". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Dunbar, Graham (10 July 2023). "More national derby games possible when revamped Champions League starts next year". AP News. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ a b "UEFA Documents – Article 16 Draw system – league phase". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ "Race for European football ends with Man Utd qualifying for Europa League and Newcastle missing out". Sky Sports.
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