Details Of The New UEFA Europa Conference League Confirmed - 184 Teams To Participate, Trophy Launched
UEFA has released the format of the new Europa Conference League, aiming for more inclusion of association members.
Europa Conference League 2021-22 Format
For the inaugural season of the UEFA's third continental football competition, a total of 184 teams from all members of the association will be able to compete.
This consists of at least one team from each association while 46 other clubs will come from either the Champions League or Europa League.
All teams will have to go through the qualifying rounds and a play-off. Those playing in the top 5 associations (Spain, England, Germany, Italy and France) will go straight to the play-off round instead.
By the group stage, there will be 32 teams left, which will be divided into eight groups of four clubs. Of the 32 clubs:
- 17 come from the UEFA Europa Conference League main path
- 5 come from the UEFA Europa Conference League champions path
- 10 eliminated in the UEFA Europa League play-offs
The format will then follow the similar route of Europa League and Champions League: knock-outs, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. Albania's capital Tirana will host the final of the 2021-22 Conference League at the National Arena (Arena Kombëtare).
The winner will secure a place in the group stage of following season's UEFA Europa League unless they have already qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their domestic competition.
UEFA Conference League Trophy
UEFA's President Aleksander Čeferin speaks about the new competition: "We want to make our competitions more inclusive – to give clubs and fans the chance to dream and compete for European honours."
"We have 55 national associations who make up UEFA, and it is important to give clubs from as many federations as possible the chance to prolong their European campaigns for as long as possible.
Further details regarding the 2021-22 Europa Conference League format can be found here.
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