Tribal Football

UEFA Conference League: Everything you need to know about teams, draws & dates

A view of the UEFA Conference League trophy ahead of the 2025 final in Wroclaw
A view of the UEFA Conference League trophy ahead of the 2025 final in WroclawStuart Franklin / Getty Images via AFP

The 2025/26 UEFA Europa Conference League is fast approaching. Below is everything you need to know about who has qualified, who could qualify, when the next draw is and all the key dates for the upcoming season.

The next Conference League draw & where to watch

The Conference League draw for the playoff round of qualifiers - which is the final stage of the qualifying process - has been done. You can follow the remaining qualifiers with Flashscore.

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However, the third qualifying round (preceding the playoff round) still needs to take place and will not be completed until August 14th.

The next Conference League draw will take place on August 29th, after the qualification process is complete. That draw will be for determining the League Phase fixtures. You will be able to watch that live on UEFA.com.

Which teams have already qualified for the 25/26 Conference League?

No clubs have qualified for the Conference League's League Phase yet, with all 36 slots determined via playoff paths.

24 teams will qualify for the League Phase from the final (playoff) round of qualifiers. Those 24 will be joined in the competition by the 12 losing sides from the Europa League's playoff round of qualifiers.

The third round of qualifiers for the Conference League has yet to be completed and precedes the playoff round.

Follow the rest of the 25/26 Conference League qualifiers with Flashscore!

Key dates for the 25/26 UEFA Conference League

Draw for the playoff round: August 4th

Third qualifying round: August 7th (first legs), August 14th (second legs)

Playoff round: August 21st (first legs), August 28th (second legs)

Draw for League Phase fixtures: August 29th

League Phase first matchday: October 2nd

League Phase last matchday: December 18th

Draw for knockout playoffs: January 16th, 2026

Knockout playoffs: February 19th (first legs), February 26th (second legs)

Final draw (for Round of 16 and beyond): February 27th, 2026

Round of 16: March 12th (first legs), March 19th (second legs)

Quarter-finals: April 9th (first legs), April 16th (second legs)

Semi-finals: April 30th (first legs), May 7th (second legs)

Final: May 27th

When & where is the 25/26 Conference League final

The Conference League final will be played at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany, on Wednesday, May 27th, 2026. The stadium has a capacity of 47,800 - it is the largest stadium in Eastern Germany. Due to UEFA sponsorship regulations, the stadium is known as the 'RB Arena' for European matches.

The winners of the final will enter the League Phase of 2026/27 Europa League, unless they have independently qualified for the Champions League.

Leipzig's Red Bull Arena will host the 2026 Conference League final
Leipzig's Red Bull Arena will host the 2026 Conference League finalHendrik Schmidt / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP

UEFA Conference League format explained

Ahead of last season, there was a big overhaul of UEFA’s cup competitions. Gone are the days of a group phase with pools - a 36-team 'League Phase' has replaced that format across the competitions.

This season in the Conference League, just like last, each of the 36 teams plays six matches in the League Phase (unlike in the Champions League and Europa League, where teams play eight).

The top eight at the end of the league phase automatically qualify for the round of 16, while the bottom eight are eliminated. Meanwhile, the teams that finished between ninth and 24th go into the knockout playoff round to determine which further eight will complete the round of 16.

The final draw for the knockout stages takes place after the knockout playoff round.

The round of 16 sees the top eight (seeded) teams drawn against the other (unseeded) teams. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final follow as per typical cup competitions.

Follow the 25/26 Conference League with Flashscore.

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