# UEFA Europa Conference League
The UEFA Europa Conference League is a season-long European men's club football competition organized by UEFA, launched in 2021/22 as the third tier of its club competitions below the Champions League and the Europa League. From the start of the 2024/25 season it was renamed simply the UEFA Conference League, after the UEFA Executive Committee decided on 28 June 2023 that dropping "Europa" would let it develop as a stand-alone competition.[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0264-10fe90612aa3-37b2bc77f89e-1000--europa-conference-league-explained/) • [2](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/028a-1a1ff1faf773-2608782b847f-1000/20240123_circular_2024_04_en_enclosure_20240119_xiii._amendments_to_the_uefa_statutes_en.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021/22, as the UEFA Europa Conference League; renamed UEFA Conference League from 2024/25[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0264-10fe90612aa3-37b2bc77f89e-1000--europa-conference-league-explained/) • [2](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/028a-1a1ff1faf773-2608782b847f-1000/20240123_circular_2024_04_en_enclosure_20240119_xiii._amendments_to_the_uefa_statutes_en.pdf) |
| Scale | Over 170 teams involved across the season, including at least one club from each of UEFA's member associations[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0264-10fe90612aa3-37b2bc77f89e-1000--europa-conference-league-explained/) |
| League phase | 36 clubs in a single league table; each club plays six matches, against the eight in the Champions League and Europa League[3](https://www.greenball360.com/news/football-explained/champions-league-vs-europa-league-vs-conference-league) |
| Entry route | In 2025/26 all 36 league-phase teams qualified through the qualifying rounds; none was placed directly[4](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0296-1d21e9c765e0-02d32ee0d103-1000--2025-26-conference-league-format-dates-draws-final/) |
| Match nights | Thursday nights alongside the Europa League, split between 18:45 CET and 21:00 CET kick-offs[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0264-10fe90612aa3-37b2bc77f89e-1000--europa-conference-league-explained/) |
| Reward for winners | A place in the next season's Europa League league phase, if not already qualified domestically[4](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0296-1d21e9c765e0-02d32ee0d103-1000--2025-26-conference-league-format-dates-draws-final/) |
| Base prize money | €3.17 million for qualifying, against €4.31 million in the Europa League and €18.6 million in the Champions League[5](https://as.com/futbol/primera/186-millones-contra-43-el-valor-de-un-sitio-en-la-champions-league-f202605-n/) |
## Purpose and reach
UEFA created the competition so that its club structure would reach beyond the wealthiest leagues. The 2021/22 reform was designed to ensure that at least 34 national associations were represented in the group stage of one or more [UEFA competitions](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-competitions), and UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin described the new competition at its 2018 approval as making the club competitions "more inclusive than ever before".[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0264-10fe90612aa3-37b2bc77f89e-1000--europa-conference-league-explained/) Every member association has access to all three club competitions, and associations' quotas were left unchanged when it was introduced.[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0264-10fe90612aa3-37b2bc77f89e-1000--europa-conference-league-explained/)
The reach has continued to widen. For 2026/27, 108 clubs from 39 national associations compete across the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League, with a record 16 clubs appearing in a league phase or group stage of a UEFA competition for the first time. Andorra became the 53rd of UEFA's 55 member associations to be represented in men's club competition through Inter Club d'Escaldes.[6](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/02a9-217e6dbfa1d4-5ee1dd0e37cd-1000--expanding-the-european-dream-the-numbers-behind-the-league-/)
## Format
**Original format, 2021/22 to 2023/24.** Play started with a group stage made up of eight groups, each containing four clubs, and then moved on to the knockout round play-offs, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, and a final held over one match. The eight group winners went straight to the last 16, while the eight runners-up met the third-ranked teams from the Europa League groups in knockout round play-offs. Before the group stage there were three qualifying rounds and a play-off round, split into a main path and a champions path for teams transferring from the Champions League and Europa League champions path; no team qualified directly for the group stage.[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0264-10fe90612aa3-37b2bc77f89e-1000--europa-conference-league-explained/)
**League phase format, from 2024/25.** From the 2024/25 season all three UEFA men's club competitions adopted a 36-team single league phase, with the Conference League clubs playing six matches each rather than the eight played in the two higher competitions.[3](https://www.greenball360.com/news/football-explained/champions-league-vs-europa-league-vs-conference-league) In the 2025/26 edition, the second under this format, qualifying ran from 10 July 2025, the six league-phase matchdays ran from 2 October to 18 December 2025, and the knockout phase ran from the play-offs in February 2026 to the final on 27 May 2026.[4](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0296-1d21e9c765e0-02d32ee0d103-1000--2025-26-conference-league-format-dates-draws-final/) Teams level on points in the league phase are separated by the tie-breaking criteria of Article 18 of the competition regulations.[7](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0291-1becaefbcd7b-54a4ebf4438b-1000--conference-league-league-phase-standings-how-teams-level-on-/)
**Access.** Associations enter the winner of their domestic cup and a number of clubs from their top division determined by the association coefficient rankings. If a domestic cup winner qualifies for the Champions League through its league position, its Conference League access slot passes to the highest-placed league finisher among the association's Conference League qualifiers.[8](https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulations-of-the-UEFA-Conference-League-2026/27/Article-3-Entries-for-the-competition-Online) In 2025/26 every one of the 36 league-phase clubs came through qualifying, with none directly placed.[4](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0296-1d21e9c765e0-02d32ee0d103-1000--2025-26-conference-league-format-dates-draws-final/)
## Money and competitive balance
The financial gap between the three competitions is large. A place in the Champions League league phase is worth €18.6 million at the outset, against €4.31 million for the Europa League and €3.17 million for the Conference League, a difference of up to €14 million at the starting point alone.[5](https://as.com/futbol/primera/186-millones-contra-43-el-valor-de-un-sitio-en-la-champions-league-f202605-n/) Across the whole distribution, the Champions League revenue envelope is 4.3 times that of the Europa League and 8.7 times that of the Conference League.[9](https://www.lemonde.fr/une-balle-dans-le-pied/article/2025/05/22/ligue-des-champions-nouvelle-formule-anciennes-recettes_6607751_6606027.html) Revenue from all three competitions also funds solidarity payments to non-competing clubs; for associations outside the top five, 70% of an available total of €180.6 million is distributed according to each association's position in the 2025/26 access list.[10](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/02a7-212bf41887e6-459c11329667-1000--solidarity-payments-to-non-competing-clubs-strengthening-com/)
At the other end, English clubs have dominated the competition's recent editions, and the expanded Europa League and Conference League formats, in which no Champions League teams drop down mid-season, have made the secondary European titles more winnable for clubs from the major leagues.[11](https://theanalyst.com/articles/playing-europe-premier-league-form-stats)
## Winners and rewards
The trophy is 57.5 cm tall and weighs 11 kg.[4](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0296-1d21e9c765e0-02d32ee0d103-1000--2025-26-conference-league-format-dates-draws-final/) West Ham United lifted the 2022/23 trophy and Chelsea the 2024/25 trophy.[4](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0296-1d21e9c765e0-02d32ee0d103-1000--2025-26-conference-league-format-dates-draws-final/) In the 2025/26 final on 27 May 2026 at the Leipzig Stadium, Crystal Palace beat [Rayo Vallecano](https://www.edgepedia.org/rayo-vallecano), with [Jean-Philippe Mateta](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-philippe-mateta) scoring the winning goal in Palace's debut Conference League campaign.[12](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/029c-1e9ad66c8169-aaecb38941a7-1000--2025-26-conference-league-knockout-phase-fixtures-and-leagu/) • [13](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/02a0-1f78989de317-2b5f170e5cfb-1000--meet-the-uefa-conference-league-knockout-phase-contend/)
Beyond the trophy, the winners are guaranteed a place in the league phase of the following season's Europa League even if they have already qualified for a European place through their domestic competition.[4](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0296-1d21e9c765e0-02d32ee0d103-1000--2025-26-conference-league-format-dates-draws-final/) • [14](https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulations-of-the-UEFA-Europa-League-2026/27/Article-3-Entries-for-the-competition-Online?contentId=_A9XE6xLGKHQj5kI1Qmurg) The Conference League and the Europa League share the same anthem, composed by Michael Kadelbach and recorded in Berlin, and together deliver Thursday-night European football across the continent.[1](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0264-10fe90612aa3-37b2bc77f89e-1000--europa-conference-league-explained/)
## References
1. [UEFA Europa Conference League: What is it? How does it work? Why was it introduced? (UEFA.com)](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0264-10fe90612aa3-37b2bc77f89e-1000--europa-conference-league-explained/)
2. [Amendments to the UEFA Statutes, Circular 2024/04 (UEFA)](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/028a-1a1ff1faf773-2608782b847f-1000/20240123_circular_2024_04_en_enclosure_20240119_xiii._amendments_to_the_uefa_statutes_en.pdf)
3. [Champions League vs Europa League vs Conference League Explained (Greenball360)](https://www.greenball360.com/news/football-explained/champions-league-vs-europa-league-vs-conference-league)
4. [2025/26 Conference League: Format, dates, draws, final (UEFA.com)](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0296-1d21e9c765e0-02d32ee0d103-1000--2025-26-conference-league-format-dates-draws-final/)
5. [18,6 millones contra 4,3: el valor de un sitio en la Champions League (AS)](https://as.com/futbol/primera/186-millones-contra-43-el-valor-de-un-sitio-en-la-champions-league-f202605-n/)
6. [Expanding the European dream: The numbers behind the league phase (UEFA.com)](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/02a9-217e6dbfa1d4-5ee1dd0e37cd-1000--expanding-the-european-dream-the-numbers-behind-the-league-/)
7. [Conference League league phase standings: How teams level on points are separated (UEFA.com)](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/0291-1becaefbcd7b-54a4ebf4438b-1000--conference-league-league-phase-standings-how-teams-level-on-/)
8. [Article 3, Entries for the competition, Regulations of the UEFA Conference League 2026/27 (UEFA)](https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulations-of-the-UEFA-Conference-League-2026/27/Article-3-Entries-for-the-competition-Online)
9. [Ligue des champions : nouvelle formule, anciennes recettes (Le Monde)](https://www.lemonde.fr/une-balle-dans-le-pied/article/2025/05/22/ligue-des-champions-nouvelle-formule-anciennes-recettes_6607751_6606027.html)
10. [Solidarity payments to non-competing clubs (UEFA.com)](https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/02a7-212bf41887e6-459c11329667-1000--solidarity-payments-to-non-competing-clubs-strengthening-com/)
11. [How Does Getting Into Europe Affect Premier League Form? (Opta Analyst)](https://theanalyst.com/articles/playing-europe-premier-league-form-stats)
12. [2025/26 Conference League: All the results (UEFA.com)](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/029c-1e9ad66c8169-aaecb38941a7-1000--2025-26-conference-league-knockout-phase-fixtures-and-leagu/)
13. [2025/26 UEFA Conference League: Meet the winners (UEFA.com)](https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/02a0-1f78989de317-2b5f170e5cfb-1000--meet-the-uefa-conference-league-knockout-phase-contend/)
14. [Article 3 Entries for the Competition Online, documents.uefa.com](https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulations-of-the-UEFA-Europa-League-2026/27/Article-3-Entries-for-the-competition-Online?contentId=_A9XE6xLGKHQj5kI1Qmurg)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events › UEFA competitions › UEFA club competitions › UEFA Europa Conference League*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license