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Champions League, Europa League and Conference League: how Europe's cups fit together

TUREFF• •0
Every week in autumn there seem to be European nights on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and it is easy to lose track of who is in which competition. UEFA runs three men's club tournaments, and since the 2024/25 season all three have shared the same basic structure. This guide explains how they relate to one another and how clubs get into each.

Three tiers of European football

  • UEFA Champions League: the top competition, for the strongest clubs from the strongest leagues.
  • UEFA Europa League: the second tier.
  • UEFA Conference League: the third tier, created to give clubs from smaller footballing nations more European matches.
Think of them as a ladder above the domestic leagues. A club's place on that ladder each season depends on how it did at home the season before.

The shared format: a league phase

All three competitions replaced their old groups of four with a single league phase of 36 teams in one table.
  • In the Champions League and Europa League, each club plays eight matches against eight different opponents, four at home and four away.
  • In the Conference League, each club plays six matches, three at home and three away.
  • Opponents are drawn from four seeding pots, so every team faces a mix of strong and weaker sides. Nobody plays everybody, which is why the table can look odd until the last matchday.
After the league phase:
  1. The top eight go straight to the round of 16.
  2. Teams from 9th to 24th play a two-legged knockout play-off, with the higher-placed sides seeded. The eight winners join the round of 16.
  3. Teams from 25th to 36th are eliminated.
From the round of 16 onwards it is the familiar two-legged knockout, ending in a single final at a pre-chosen stadium.

No more dropping down

Under the old format, third place in a Champions League group sent a club into the Europa League. That route has gone. A club knocked out of the Champions League at any stage is simply out of Europe for the season, and the same applies to Europa League sides and the Conference League. This makes the final matchdays tense in a new way: the fight is now between 24th and 25th as much as between first and second.

How clubs qualify

Qualification mostly comes through domestic results, and the number of places a country receives depends on its UEFA coefficient, a ranking built from its clubs' recent European results.
  • League position: the strongest leagues send their top four directly to the Champions League, with lower places going to the Europa League and Conference League.
  • Domestic cups: a national cup winner usually earns a Europa League place.
  • Winning a European trophy: the Champions League winner qualifies for the next edition, and the Europa League winner earns a Champions League place. The Conference League winner earns a place in the Europa League.
  • European Performance Spots: the two countries whose clubs performed best collectively in the previous season each receive an extra Champions League place.
  • Qualifying rounds: champions and clubs from lower-ranked nations often start in summer qualifying rounds and must win several ties to reach the league phase. In the Conference League, every team has to come through qualifying.

Why the smaller cups matter

It is tempting to treat the Europa League and Conference League as consolation prizes, but they matter a great deal to many clubs.
  • They bring prize money and television income that can be large for a club outside the biggest leagues.
  • They offer a realistic chance of a trophy.
  • Winning the Europa League is a back door into the Champions League.

Tips for following along

  • Check which competition is on which night; UEFA generally spreads the three across Tuesday to Thursday.
  • On the final league-phase matchday, all games in a competition kick off at the same time, so keep an eye on the live table.
  • Remember that goal difference and other tie-breakers can decide who finishes eighth or 24th.
Which club are you following in Europe this season? Share your predictions or questions about the format in the comments.

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