2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
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Tournament details | |
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Dates | Qualifying: 6 July – 26 August 2021 Competition proper: 14 September 2021 – 25 May 2022 |
Teams | Competition proper: 32+8 Total: 136+45 (from 54 associations) |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 95 |
Goals scored | 260 (2.74 per match) |
Attendance | 897,343 (9,446 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | Tammy Abraham (6 goals) |
The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League is the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA.
The final will be played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania.[1] The winners of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League will automatically qualify for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League group stage, unless they manage to qualify for the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage.[2]
This season is the first since 1998–99 (the last season when the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was played) where three major European club competitions (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League) take place.[3]
On 24 June 2021, UEFA approved the proposal to abolish the away goals rule in all UEFA club competitions, which had been used since 1965. Therefore, if in a two-legged tie, two teams score the same amount of aggregate goals, the winner will not be decided by the number of away goals scored by each team, but always by 30 minutes of extra time, and if the two teams score the same amount of goals in extra time, the winner will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.[4]
Contents
Association team allocation
A total of 181 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations participate in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League (the exception being Spain, as none of their teams finished third in the Europa League group stage). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[5]
- Associations 1–5 each have one team qualify.
- Association 1 (Spain) does not have any team qualify for this season, as the team which would have participated, Villarreal, won the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League and earned a place in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League.
- Associations 6–15 and 51–55 each have two teams qualify.
- Associations 16–50 (except Liechtenstein)[Note LIE] each have three teams qualify.
- As the UEFA Europa Conference League title holders' berth in the UEFA Europa League is vacant this season, association 16 (Cyprus) have their domestic cup winner promoted from the Europa Conference League to the Europa League, so they only have two teams qualify.
- Liechtenstein have one team qualify (Liechtenstein organises only a domestic cup and no domestic league).[Note LIE]
- Moreover, 20 teams eliminated from the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League and 26 teams eliminated from the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League are transferred to the Europa Conference League.
- For this season, only 19 teams eliminated from the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League are transferred, as there is one fewer team competing in the Champions Path qualifying of 2021–22 UEFA Champions League.
Association ranking
For the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2020 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2015–16 to 2019–20.[6]
Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Europa Conference League, as noted below:
- (UCL) – Additional/vacated teams transferred from/to the UEFA Champions League
- (UEL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Europa League
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Distribution
The following is the access list for this season.[7] In the default access list, the title holders of the Europa Conference League qualify for the Europa League group stage. However, since this berth is vacant this season, the following changes to the access list were made:
- The cup winners of association 16 (Cyprus) enter the Europa League instead of the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.
- The cup winners of associations 30 (Slovakia) and 31 (Liechtenstein) enter the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
As Villarreal, which otherwise would have qualified for the Europa Conference League play-off round via their domestic league, won the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League, thereby earning an automatic spot in the Champions League group stage as the Europa League title holders, thus vacating a berth in the play-off round. The following changes have been confirmed by UEFA:[8]
- The domestic cup winners of associations 17 (Switzerland) and 18 (Greece) enter the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
- The domestic cup winners of associations 32 (Slovenia), 33 (Hungary), 34 (Luxembourg) and 35 (Lithuania) enter the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
Moreover, in the default access list, originally 17 losers from the Champions League first qualifying round are transferred to the Europa Conference League second qualifying round (Champions Path). However, since the Champions League title holders, Chelsea, which were guaranteed a berth in the Champions League group stage, already qualified via their domestic league, only 16 losers from the Champions League first qualifying round are transferred to the Europa Conference League second qualifying round (Champions Path) after the Champions League access list was rebalanced. As a result, only 19 teams enter the Champions Path second qualifying round (one of the losers from the Champions League first qualifying round is drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round).
Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round | Teams transferred from Champions League or Europa League | ||
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First qualifying round (66 teams) |
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Second qualifying round (108 teams) |
Champions Path (18 teams) |
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Main Path (90 teams) |
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Third qualifying round (64 teams) |
Champions Path (10 teams) |
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Main Path (54 teams) |
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Play-off round (44 teams) |
Champions Path (10 teams) |
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Main Path (34 teams) |
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Group stage (32 teams) |
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Preliminary knockout round (16 teams) |
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Knockout phase (16 teams) |
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Teams
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
- CW: Domestic cup winners
- 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position of the previous season
- LC: League cup winners
- RW: Regular season winners
- PW: End-of-season Europa Conference League play-offs winners
- UCL: Transferred from the Champions League
- Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
- PR: Losers from the preliminary round (F: final; SF: semi-finals)
- UEL: Transferred from the Europa League
- GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage
- PO: Losers from the play-off round
- CH/MP Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round (Champions/Main Path)
- Abd-: League positions of abandoned season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe as determined by the national association; all teams are subject to approval by UEFA as per the guidelines for entry to European competitions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round are divided into Champions Path (CH) and Main Path (MP).
CC: 2021 UEFA club coefficients.[10]
Three teams not playing in a national top division took part in the competition: Gagra (2nd tier), Sileks (2nd tier) and Vaduz (2nd tier).
Notes
- ^ Champions League (UCL Q1): One of the Champions League first qualifying round losers will be drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round (Champions Path), as one fewer loser were transferred to the second qualifying round (Champions Path), due to a Champions League group stage berth vacated by the Champions League title holders.
- ^ Iceland (ISL): The 2020 Úrvalsdeild and the 2020 Icelandic Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, FH, Stjarnan and Breiðablik, were selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League by the Football Association of Iceland.[11]
- ^ Kazakhstan (KAZ): The 2020 Kazakhstan Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kazakhstan. As a result, the fourth-placed team of the 2020 Kazakhstan Premier League was selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League by the Football Federation of Kazakhstan.[12]
- ^ Liechtenstein (LIE):
- The seven teams affiliated with the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) all play in the Swiss football league system. The only competition organised by the LFV is the Liechtenstein Football Cup – the winners of which qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League.
- The 2020–21 Liechtenstein Cup was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Liechtenstein. The team remaining in the cup with the highest UEFA club coefficient, Vaduz, were selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League by the Liechtenstein Football Association, entering the second qualifying round.[13]
- ^ Luxembourg (LUX): The 2020–21 Luxembourg Cup was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Luxembourg. As a result, the fourth-placed team of the 2020–21 Luxembourg National Division was selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League by the Luxembourg Football Federation.[14]
- ^ Malta (MLT): The 2020–21 Maltese Premier League and the 2020–21 Maltese FA Trophy were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta. Originally the second, third and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Hibernians, Gżira United and Birkirkara, were selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League by the Malta Football Association. However, Ħamrun Spartans who were declared champions were subsequently banned from European competitions for match fixing. As a result, Hibernians were elevated to the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League and Mosta, the sixth-placed team, were selected to play in the UEFA Europa Conference League, since Sliema Wanderers, the fifth-placed team, failed to obtain a UEFA license.[15][16][17]
- ^ Norway (NOR): The 2020 Norwegian Football Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway. As a result, the fourth-placed team of the 2020 Eliteserien was selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League by the Norwegian Football Federation.[18]
- ^ Wales (WAL): The 2020–21 Welsh Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales. As a result, the third-placed team from the 2020–21 Cymru Premier was selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League by the Football Association of Wales.[19]
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[20] Matches are scheduled for Thursdays apart from the final, which takes place on a Wednesday, though exceptionally can take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts (especially featuring teams from countries where there are very few sufficient stadiums, such as Gibraltar and Wales). Scheduled kick-off times starting from the group stage are 18:45 (instead of 18:55 previously) and 21:00 CEST/CET, though exceptionally can take place at 16:30 due to geographical reasons.[21]
All draws start at 13:00 or 14:00 CEST/CET and are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. On 16 July 2021, UEFA announced that the group stage draw will be held in Istanbul, Turkey.[22]
Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
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Qualifying | First qualifying round | 15 June 2021 | 8 July 2021 | 15 July 2021 |
Second qualifying round | 16 June 2021 | 22 July 2021 | 29 July 2021 | |
Third qualifying round | 19 July 2021 | 5 August 2021 | 12 August 2021 | |
Play-offs | 2 August 2021 | 19 August 2021 | 26 August 2021 | |
Group stage | Matchday 1 | 27 August 2021 | 16 September 2021 | |
Matchday 2 | 30 September 2021 | |||
Matchday 3 | 21 October 2021 | |||
Matchday 4 | 4 November 2021 | |||
Matchday 5 | 25 November 2021 | |||
Matchday 6 | 9 December 2021 | |||
Knockout phase | Knockout round play-offs | 13 December 2021 | 17 February 2022 | 24 February 2022 |
Round of 16 | 25 February 2022 | 10 March 2022 | 17 March 2022 | |
Quarter-finals | 18 March 2022 | 7 April 2022 | 14 April 2022 | |
Semi-finals | 28 April 2022 | 5 May 2022 | ||
Final | 25 May 2022 at Arena Kombëtare, Tirana |
Qualifying rounds
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First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 15 June 2021, 13:30 CEST.[23] The first legs were played on 6 and 8 July, and the second legs were played on 13 and 15 July 2021.
The winners of the ties advanced to the Main Path second qualifying round. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season. 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round (Main Path)
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 16 June 2021, 13:30 CEST.[24] The first legs were played on 20, 21 and 22 July, and the second legs were played on 27 and 29 July 2021.
The winners of the ties advanced to the third qualifying round of their respective path. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season. 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round (Champions Path) 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round (Main Path)
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 19 July 2021, 14:00 CEST.[25] The first legs were played on 3 and 5 August, and the second legs were played on 10 and 12 August 2021.
The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round of their respective path. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season. 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round (Champions Path) 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round (Main Path)
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 2 August 2021, 14:00 CEST.[26] The first legs were played on 19 August, and the second legs were played on 26 August 2021.
The winners of the ties advanced to the group stage. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season. 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round (Champions Path) 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase and play-off round (Main Path)
Group stage
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The draw for the group stage was held on 27 August 2021, 13:30 CEST (14:30 TRT), in Istanbul, Turkey.[22][27] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. For the draw, the teams were seeded into four pots, each of eight teams, based on their 2021 UEFA club coefficients.[10] Teams from the same association, and due to political reasons, teams from Azerbaijan and Armenia, could not be drawn into the same group. Prior to the draw, UEFA formed pairings of teams from the same association, including those playing in the Europa League group stage (one pairing for associations with two or three teams, two pairings for associations with four or five teams), based on television audiences, where one team was drawn into Groups A–D and another team was drawn into Groups E–H, so that the two teams would have different kick-off times.[28]
The matches were played on 14 and 16 September, 30 September, 21 October, 4 November, 25 November, and 9 December 2021. The winners of each group advanced to the round of 16, while the runners-up advanced to the knockout round play-offs. The third-placed and fourth-placed teams were eliminated from European competitions for the season.
Alashkert, Bodø/Glimt, Flora, Kairat, Lincoln Red Imps, Mura, Randers and Union Berlin made their debut appearances in a UEFA competition group stage. Alashkert, Flora and Lincoln Red Imps were the first teams from Armenia, Estonia and Gibraltar, respectively, to play in a UEFA competition group stage.
Group A
Template:2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group tables
Group B
Template:2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group tables
Group C
Template:2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group tables
Group D
Template:2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group tables
Group E
Template:2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group tables
Group F
Template:2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group tables
Group G
Template:2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group tables
Group H
Template:2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group tables
Knockout phase
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In the knockout phase, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final.2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase
Knockout round play-offs
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase
Round of 16
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase
Quarter-finals
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase
Semi-finals
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase
Final
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase
Statistics
Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.
Top goalscorers
Rank[29] | Player | Team | Goals | Minutes played |
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1 | Tammy Abraham | Roma | 6 | 298 |
2 | Gaëtan Laborde | Rennes | 5 | 309 |
Arthur Cabral | Basel | 490 | ||
4 | Cyriel Dessers | Feyenoord | 4 | 235 |
Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | 265 | ||
Andre Green | Slovan Bratislava | 413 | ||
Jonas Wind | Copenhagen | 435 | ||
Ola Solbakken | Bodø/Glimt | 535 | ||
Erik Botheim | Bodø/Glimt | 539 |
Top assists
Rank[30] | Player | Team | Assists | Minutes played |
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1 | Erik Botheim | Bodø/Glimt | 4 | 539 |
See also
- 2021–22 UEFA Champions League
- 2021–22 UEFA Europa League
- 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League
- 2021–22 UEFA Youth League
References
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