New UEFA Europa League format explained

Jack Ogalbe

Spotlight

Bilbao's San Mames will host the 2024-25 Europa League final

The UEFA competitions have had a makeover for the new campaign, including the second tier Europa League.

Instead of the teams being separated into groups, progress will now be decided through a league phase played over eight matchdays.

The changes mean that the initial stage of the competition will continue into 2025, rather than the previous system that resulted in the pools being completed before Christmas.

Format

The Europa League was previously made up of 32 sides spread across eight groups. It then absorbed the teams that had dropped down from the Champions League after finishing third in their pool and been given a second shot at continental success by featuring in this competition's first play-off round.

However, there is now a 36-team league phase and the tournament will no longer feature those sides knocked out of the Champions League.

The top eight after eight matchdays will go straight into the last 16, while the sides that finish between ninth to 24th will qualify for a play-off round, with the winners of those ties taking on those teams who have already progressed after the league phase.

A straight knockout follows in the last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, which this season takes place at the San Mames in Bilbao.

Who has qualified for the Europa League?

Reigning champions Atalanta will not get to defend their title, with a place in the Champions League part of their prize for beating Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin last May.

Similarly, last season's Conference League heroes Olympiakos will not be able to retain their crown and will instead compete in this competition for the same reason.

Seven domestic cup winners qualified automatically, while five also came through by virtue of their league position.

They are Manchester United, Tottenham, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim, Roma, Lazio, Nice, Lyon, AZ Alkmaar, Porto.

Those 12 sides and Olympiakos have been joined by FC Twente, Union Saint-Gilloise, Rangers and Fenerbahce after their defeats in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

The final 19 clubs are a combination of those who successfully came through the play-off round of this competition and the losers in the same stage of the Champions League.

They are Galatasaray, Qarabag, Midtylland, Bodo/Glimt, Malmo, Slavia Prague, Dynamo Kyiv, Slavia Prague, Anderlecht, Ajax, Ludogorets, Besiktas, FCSB, RFS, Maccabi Tel Aviv, PAOK, Ferencvaros, Elfsborg, Braga and Viktoria Plzen.

Key dates for the 2024-25 Europa League

As with the previous format, the qualifying rounds again conclude in August, with the draw for the league phase taking place on August 30.

There will then be eight matchdays in the league phase, with the final two rounds of fixtures taking place in January:

Matchday 1 - September 25-26
Matchday 2 - October 3
Matchday 3 - October 24
Matchday 4 - November 7
Matchday 5 - November 28
Matchday 6 - December 12
Matchday 7 - January 23
Matchday 8 - January 30

The sides that finish ninth to 24th will drop into a play-off round, which will be drawn on January 3, and played over two legs on February 13 and 20.

The winners will progress into the Round of 16 on March 6 and 13. The draw for that round will be made on February 21 and will establish each team's potential pathways for the remaining stages.

Quarter-finalists will meet on April 10 and April 17, before the semi-finals on May 1 and May 8.

The final will be held on May 25 at Bilbao's San Mames Stadium, giving last season's Copa del Rey winners Athletic extra motivation to at least repeat their 2012 achievement of reaching the showpiece.