UEFA Conference League play-off round draw

The 2024/25 UEFA Conference League play-off draw will be held at 14:00 CET on Monday 5 August at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

CHAMPIONS PATH
Number of teams involved: 10 (four pairings coming from the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round champions path and six pairings coming from the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round champions path)
Number of seeded teams: 5
Number of matches: 2 x 5
Matchdays: 22 and 29 August 2024

MAIN PATH
Number of teams involved: 38 (five directly, 26 pairings coming from the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round main path and seven pairings coming from the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round main path)
Number of seeded teams: 19
Number of matches: 2 x 19
Matchdays: 22 and 29 August 2024

Match dates and kick-off times will be announced by 9 August 2024.

DRAW PROCEDURE

Based on Article 14 of the UEFA Conference League Regulations the following draw procedure has been adopted by the Club Competitions Committee.

Match system

The qualifying phase and play-offs follow the knockout system, whereby each team plays each opponent twice, in home and away matches.

Draw system and conditions

A draw between the same number of seeded and unseeded clubs determines the ties for the qualifying phase and play-offs. Clubs are seeded for these draws in accordance with the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season (see Annex D) and with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. If, for any reason, any of the participants in the rounds concerned are not known at the time of the draw, the coefficients of the two clubs involved in the undecided tie are used for the purposes of the draw. For the club advancing to the next round of the competition as winner of the tie, the coefficient of the club with the higher coefficient of the two clubs involved is used for the purposes of the draw. For the other club, which is fed into the relevant round of the competition from another competition, the lower coefficient of the two clubs in the pairing of the other competition is used for the purposes of the draw.

The UEFA administration may form groups for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

A draw is conducted to determine the ties of each match and which team plays the first leg match at home.

In accordance with the relevant decisions of the UEFA Executive Committee, teams from the following associations may not be drawn against each other:

Armenia – Azerbaijan
Gibraltar – Spain
Kosovo – Bosnia-Herzegovina
Kosovo – Serbia
Kosovo – Russia*
Ukraine – Russia*
Ukraine – Belarus

*All teams from Russia are suspended until further notice by the decision of the Executive Committee of 28 February 2022, and as confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 15 July 2022.

Draw system (Champions Path)

The ten teams (four pairings from the champions path of the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round ties, indicated for the purposes of this draw as Winners of Pairing 1 to 4; and the six pairings coming from the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round champions path, indicated for the purposes of this draw as Pairing 1 to 6) are divided equally into five seeded and five unseeded pairings.

As the teams qualifying from the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League are not known at the time of the draw, the coefficient of the team with the higher coefficient of the two teams involved in each undecided UEFA Conference League third qualifying round tie is used for the seeding for the purposes of the draw. Therefore, if a team in a UEFA Conference League third qualifying round tie has a coefficient that would entitle it to be seeded for the UEFA Conference League play-offs qualifying round draw, the winner of that tie is automatically seeded for the draw.

Furthermore, as the teams entering the competition from the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League (champions path) are not known at the time of the draw, the coefficient of the team with the lower coefficient of the two teams involved in each undecided UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie is used for the seeding for the purposes of the draw.

Groupings (Champions Path)

Seeded
Winners pairing 1: HJK Helsinki (FIN) / FK Dečić (MNE)
Winners pairing 2: Vikingur Reykjavík (ISL) / FC Flora Tallinn (EST)
Winners pairing 3: FC Ordabasy (KAZ) / FC Pyunik (ARM)
Pairing 1: FC Petrocub (MDA) / The New Saints FC (WAL)
Winners pairing 4: FC Ballkani (KOS) / Larne FC (NIR)

Unseeded
Pairing 2: KÍ Klaksvík (FRO) / FK Borac Banja Luka (BIH)
Pairing 3: NK Celje (SVN) / Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)
Pairing 4: FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR) / Lincoln Red Imps FC (GIB)
Pairing 5: FK Panevėžys (LTU) / Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
Pairing 6: UE Santa Coloma (AND) / FC RFS (LVA)

Draw procedure (Champions Path)

Three bowls are prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded pairings placed in the corresponding marked bowls.

One ball is then taken from each of these bowls and placed in the third empty central bowl, where they are shuffled.

The first pairing then drawn from this bowl is considered the home team for the first leg of the first tie, which they will play against the second pairing drawn.

The process is then repeated with the remaining balls to complete all the ties.

Due to the above-mentioned Executive Committee decision concerning teams from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, in the event that the balls containing the pairing of FC Ballkani (vs Larne FC) (i.e. Winner of Pairing 4) and the pairing involving FK Borac Banja Luka (vs KÍ Klaksvík) (i.e. Pairing 2) are drawn against each other, the second team drawn into the tie will be moved to be the away first leg visiting team of the next pairing tie. One ball will then be drawn directly from the appropriate bowl to complete the initial tie with a different away first leg visiting team.

Following that, one ball will then be drawn directly from the other relevant bowl to complete the subsequent tie by allocating a first leg home team.

If the balls containing the pairings involving FC Ballkani and FK Borac Banja Luka are the last two remaining in the draw, the one pairing drawn as the first leg visiting team in the second-to-last pairing will instead be moved to the position of the first leg visiting team in the last pairing. The last remaining ball in the relevant bowl will then be drawn to complete the second-to-last pairing as the first leg visiting team. The last final remaining ball will then be drawn as the first leg home team in the last pairing.

Draw system (Main Path)

The 38 teams (five that enter the competition at this stage; 26 pairings coming from the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League main path; and seven pairings coming from the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round main path) are divided into three groups of ten teams and/or pairings (Group 1 to 3) and one group of eight teams and/or pairings (Group 4), with an equal number of seeded and unseeded teams and/or pairings in each group.

As the teams qualifying from the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League are not known at the time of the draw, the coefficient of the team with the higher coefficient of the two teams involved in each undecided UEFA Conference League third qualifying round tie is used for the seeding for the purposes of the draw. Therefore, if a team in a UEFA Conference League third qualifying round tie has a coefficient that would entitle it to be seeded for the UEFA Conference League play-offs draw, the winner of that tie is automatically seeded for the draw.

Furthermore, as the teams entering the competition from the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League (main path) are not known at the time of the draw, the coefficient of the team with the lower coefficient of the two teams involved in each undecided UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie is used for the seeding for the purposes of the draw.

Groupings (Main Path)

Group 1
Seeded
1. F.C. Copenhagen (DEN) / FC Baník Ostrava (CZE)
2. 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (GER)
3. RC Lens (FRA)
4. Omonoia FC (CYP) / Fehérvár FC (HUN)
5. Trabzonspor A.Ş (TUR) / SK Rapid Wien (AUT)

Unseeded
6. NK Osijek (CRO) / PFC Zire (AZE)
7. Kilmarnock FC (SCO) / Tromsø IL (NOR)
8. FC St. Gallen 1879 (SUI) / WKS Śląsk Wrocław (POL)
9. Panathinaikos FC (GRE) / AFC Ajax (NED)
10. BK Häcken (SWE) / Paide Linnameeskond (EST)

Group 2
Seeded
1. ACF Fiorentina (ITA)
2. NK Olimpija Ljubljana (SVN) / FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA)
3. Brøndby IF (DEN) / Legia Warszawa (POL)
4. FC Zürich (SUI) / Vitória SC (POR)
5. CS Corvinul 1921 Hunedoara (ROU) / FC Astana (KAZ)

Unseeded
6. PFC Botev Plovdiv (BUL) / HŠK Zrinjski Mostar (BIH)
7. FC Ararat-Armenia (ARM) / Puskás Akadémia FC (HUN)
8. St Mirren FC (SCO) / SK Brann (NOR)
9. FK Auda (LVA) / FC Drita (KOS)
10. HNK Rijeka (CRO) / IF Elfsborg (SWE)

Group 3
Seeded
1. Chelsea FC (ENG)
2. FC Iberia 1999 Tbilisi (GEO) / İstanbul Başakşehir (TUR)
3. FK Mladá Boleslav (CZE) / Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC (ISR)
4. Ilves Tampere (FIN) / Djurgården (SWE)
5. Molde FK (NOR) / Cercle Brugge KSV (BEL)

Unseeded
6. NK Maribor (SVN) / FK Vojvodina (SRB)
7. SC Braga (POR) / Servette FC (SUI)
8. FC Spartak Trnava (SVK) / Wisła Kraków (POL)
9. Paksi FC (HUN) / FK Mornar (MNE)
10. St Patrick's Athletic (IRL) / FC Sabah (AZE)

Group 4
Seeded
1. Silkeborg IF (DEN) / KAA Gent (BEL)
2. Real Betis Balompié (ESP)
3. Maccabi Petah Tikva FC (ISR) / CFR 1907 Cluj (ROU)
4. FC Noah (ARM) / AEK Athens FC (GRE)

Unseeded
5. MFK Ružomberok (SVK) / HNK Hajduk Split (CRO)
6. FK Partizan (SRB) / FC Lugano (SUI)
7. FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (UKR) / FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
8. FC CSKA 1948 (BUL) / Pafos FC (CYP)

Draw procedure (Main Path)

Groups 1 to 3
All the clubs in each of the three groups are randomly assigned a number: 1 to 5 for the seeded teams/pairings and 6 to 10 for the unseeded teams/pairings.

Three bowls are prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the numbers for the seeded and unseeded teams for Groups 1-3 placed in the correspondingly marked bowls.

One ball is taken from each of these bowls and placed in the third empty central bowl, where they are shuffled. The teams represented by the first number then drawn from this bowl is considered the home team of the first pairing of all three groups, and they will play against the teams indicated by the number of the ball drawn second from this bowl.

For example, if the first ball drawn contains the number 2 and the second the number 8, the clubs that have been assigned the numbers 2 and 8 in each of the three groups will play each other. The first ball drawn, here containing the number 2, designates the home team for the first leg in all three ties.

The process is then repeated with the remaining balls to complete all the ties,

Group 4
The procedure for this group is exactly the same as above, with the only difference being that the seeded teams and/or pairings are assigned numbers 1 to 4, and the unseeded teams and/or pairings assigned numbers 5 to 8.

Draw explanation (Champions Path and Main Path)

A video explaining the draw procedure will be shown prior to the draw.

Calendar elaboration

The stadiums, dates (in accordance with the calendar in Annex C) and kick-off times for all qualifying matches are fixed by the home clubs in consultation with their respective associations and must be confirmed to the UEFA administration by the deadline set by the UEFA administration. The UEFA administration may alter or confirm dates and kick-off times in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.

If two or more clubs from the same city, within a radius of 50km of each other and/or playing in the same stadium, take part in any of the UEFA club competitions, and if the association and the clubs concerned explicitly declare when entering the clubs that their matches cannot be played on the same day or on consecutive days, the UEFA administration may alter or confirm dates and kick-off times in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.

The UEFA administration decides on match dates and fixture reversals on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the applicable principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. In any case, the UEFA administration reserves the right to impose a match date if the circumstances so require.

Any changes of date and fixture reversals will be communicated in writing to the clubs and their respective associations by 18:00 CET on Monday 5 August 2024.