Before the premiere of Ukraine in the UEFA Conference League: everything you need to know about the new tournament

21.07.2021 19:03

Photo by uefa.com

The first match for the representative of Ukraine in the new European Cup tournament - the UEFA Conference League will take place on July 22. Poltava's Vorskla, the fifth UPL club, will play against local KuPS in the second qualifying round in Finland. 

Participants in the UEFA Conference League

184 teams from all 55 UEFA national associations will take part in the draw, including 46 clubs that will move from the Champions League and Europa League.

Before the group stage there will be three qualifying rounds and a playoff round. The latter will be divided into the main path and the path of the champions (for teams that have departed from the path of the champions of the Champions League and Europa League). Selection scheme describes which teams (including some national cup winners) and from which associations will get to which round, as well as all transitions between tournaments.

There will be no direct passes to the group stage. By this stage there will be 32 teams:

- 17 clubs - through the main path of the League of Conferences, which will consist of four stages (among the participants of this branch there are two representatives of Ukraine - Vorskla and Kolos, who will start the fight from the second and third rounds of selection, respectively);

- five clubs - through the path of the Champions League champions;

- 10 clubs - after leaving the play-off round of the Europa League (one of them may be a representative of Ukraine - "Zorya").

Group stage format

Eight groups of four teams. Then - butt matches, 1/8 finals, quarterfinals, semifinals and final.

The winners of eight groups of the Conference League go directly to the 1/8 finals. The winners of the second places play playoffs with the teams that will take the third places in the groups of the Europa League - eight tickets to the 1/8 finals are played.

When will the matches of the Conference League take place?

On Thursdays, simultaneously with the matches of the Europa League. The final of the League of Conferences will take place a week after the final of the Europa League, which will be held on May 18, 2022 in Seville. 

First qualifying round: took place on July 8 and 15, 2021.

Second qualifying round: July 22 and 29, 2021.

Vorskla will play against KuPS (Finland). 

Third qualifying round: August 5 and 12, 2021.

Kolos will meet the winner of the pair FCSB (Romania) - Shakhtar (Karaganda, Kazakhstan). The first game will take place in Kovalivka.

Vorskla, if they overcome the resistance of the Finnish KuPS in the second qualifying round, will play against the winner of the pair "Astana" (Kazakhstan) - "Aris" (Greece). The first match will take place in Poltava.

Play-off round: August 19 and 26, 2021.

Group stage: September 16 and 30, October 21, November 4 and 25, December 9, 2021.

In case of failure in the play-off round of the Europa League qualification, Zorya will move to the group round of the Conference League.

Match matches: February 17 and 24, 2022.

1/8 finals: March 10 and 17, 2022.

1/4 finals: April 7 and 14, 2022.

1/2 finals: April 28 and May 5, 2022.

Final: May 25, 2022 (National Arena, Tirana).

The League of Conferences will be held at least throughout the 2021-2024 cycle.

What does the winner get?

A trophy and a ticket to the group stage of the next Europa League - if the winner did not reach the Champions League through the domestic championship.

Appointment of the League of Conferences

Thanks to the new structure of the European Cups, teams from at least 34 national associations will play in the group stage of UEFA club tournaments.

At least 14 reigning champions will play in the group stage of the Champions League. There will be eight to 11 of them in the group stage of the Europa League, and nine to 12 in the group stage of the League of Conferences. 

How will this affect other tournaments?

The Champions League will not change in any way.

In the Europa League, the number of participants in the group stage will be reduced from 48 to 32. Instead of the former 12 groups, there will be eight or four teams in each.

The winners of the eight groups of the Europa League will advance directly to the 1/8 finals. The runners-up will play head-to-head matches with the third-placed teams in the Champions League groups, playing eight tickets to the 1/8 finals of the Europa League. That is, butt matches are introduced into the tournament.