2020–21 UEFA Europa League
The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League will be the 50th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 12th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
.jpg) The Stadion Energa Gdańsk in Gdańsk will host the final | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 20 August 2020 – 2 October 2020 Competition proper: 22 October 2020 – 26 May 2021 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 48+8 Total (expected): 158+57 (from 55 associations) |
The final will be played at the Stadion Energa Gdańsk in Gdansk, Poland. The stadium was originally appointed to host the 2020 UEFA Europa League Final, but this was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[1] The winners of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League will automatically qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage, and also earn the right to play against the winners of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup.
Association team allocation
A total of 215 (expected) teams from all 55 UEFA member associations participate in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:
- Associations 1–50 (except Liechtenstein) each have three teams qualify.
- Associations 51–55 each have two teams qualify (starting from this season, with association 51 losing one spot and association 55 gaining one spot).[2]
- Liechtenstein have one team qualify (Liechtenstein organises only a domestic cup and no domestic league).
- Moreover, 57 teams eliminated from the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League are transferred to the Europa League.
Association ranking
For the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2019 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2014–15 to 2018–19.[3]
Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:
- (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
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Distribution
The following is the default access list.[4]
| Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round | Teams transferred from Champions League | ||
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| Preliminary round (16 teams) |
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| First qualifying round (94 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round | Champions Path (20 teams) |
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| Main Path (74 teams) |
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| Third qualifying round | Champions Path (20 teams) |
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| Main Path (52 teams) |
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| Play-off round | Champions Path (16 teams) |
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| Main Path (26 teams) |
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| Group stage (48 teams) |
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| Knockout phase (32 teams) |
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Changes will be made to the access list above, if any of the teams that qualify for the Europa League via their domestic competitions also qualify for the Champions League as the Champions League or Europa League title holders, or if there are fewer teams transferred from the Champions League due to changes in the Champions League access list. In any case where a spot in the Europa League is vacated, cup winners of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds will be promoted accordingly.
As a result of schedule delays to both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 European seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 European season will start before the conclusion of the 2019–20 European season. Therefore, the changes to the access list that should be made based on which teams are the Champions League and Europa League title holders may not be certain after matches of the earlier qualifying rounds have been played and/or their draws have been made. How changes will be implemented in this case will be confirmed by UEFA.
Redistribution rules
A Europa League place is vacated when a team qualifies for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualifies for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place is vacated, it is redistributed within the national association by the following rules:
- When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualify for the Champions League, their Europa League place is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place".
- When the domestic cup winners also qualify for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place" if possible.
- For associations where a Europa League place is reserved for either the League Cup or end-of-season European competition play-offs winners, they always qualify for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier. If the League Cup winners have already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place is taken by the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions.
Teams
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline for entering the tournament had been postponed until further notice.[5] In early April 2020, UEFA sent a letter to all member associations that domestic leagues must be completed in full without ending prematurely in order to qualify for European competitions.[6] After meeting with the 55 UEFA associations on 21 April 2020, UEFA strongly recommended them to finish domestic top league and cup competitions, although in some special cases where it is not possible, UEFA would develop guidelines concerning participation in its club competitions in case of a cancelled league or cup.[7][8] After the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 23 April 2020, UEFA announced that if a domestic competition is prematurely terminated for legitimate reasons in accordance with conditions related to public health or economic problems, the national associations concerned are required to select their participating teams for the 2020–21 UEFA club competitions based on sporting merit in the 2019–20 domestic competitions, and UEFA reserves the right to refuse their admission if UEFA deems the termination of the competitions not legitimate, or the selection procedure not objective, transparent and non-discriminatory, or the team is perceived by the public as qualifying unfairly. A suspended domestic competition may also be restarted with a different format from the original one in a manner which would still facilitate qualification on sporting merit.[9][10] All leagues should communicate to UEFA by 25 May 2020 whether they intend to restart their competitions.[11]
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
- CW: 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 League play-offs winners
- UCL: Transferred from the Champions League
- GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage
- CH/LP PO: Losers from the play-off round (Champions/League Path)
- CH/LP Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round (Champions/League Path)
- CH/LP Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round (Champions/League Path)
- Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
- PR: Losers from the preliminary round (F: final; SF: semi-finals)
- 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[12]
The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round are divided into Champions Path (CH) and Main Path (MP).
Note: Teams in italics may still qualify for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, either through domestic performance, or by winning the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League or the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
CC: 2020 UEFA club coefficients (updated after UEFA Champions/Europa League matches on 12 March 2020, coefficients which may increase marked by ≥).[13]
One team not playing a national top division will take part in the competition; Vaduz (representing Liechtenstein) plays in 2019–20 Swiss Challenge League, which is Switzerland's 2nd tier.
Notes
- ^ Azerbaijan (AZE): The 2019–20 Azerbaijan Premier League and the 2019–20 Azerbaijan Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Neftçi, Keşla and Sumgayit, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[14]
- ^ Belgium (BEL): The 2019–20 Belgian First Division A was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium. The third-placed, fourth-placed and fifth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Charleroi, Antwerp and Standard Liège, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Royal Belgian Football Association, with either Charleroi or Antwerp entering the group stage or third qualifying round, and Standard Liège entering the second qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[15]
- Charleroi will enter the group stage and Antwerp will enter the third qualifying round if Club Brugge win the 2019–20 Belgian Cup.
- Antwerp will enter the group stage and Charleroi will enter the third qualifying round if Antwerp win the 2019–20 Belgian Cup.
- ^ Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH): The 2019–20 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the 2019–20 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Željezničar Sarajevo, Zrinjski Mostar and Borac Banja Luka, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[16]
- ^ Cyprus (CYP): The 2019–20 Cypriot First Division and the 2019–20 Cypriot Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Anorthosis Famagusta, APOEL and Apollon Limassol, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Cyprus Football Association, entering the second qualifying round (second-placed team) and first qualifying round respectively, pending confirmation from UEFA.[17]
- ^ England (ENG): Manchester City, winners of the 2019–20 EFL Cup, were banned from all UEFA club competitions for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 14 February 2020 due to breaches of the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations.[18] However, the decision is pending appeal by Manchester City to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[19]
- ^ France (FRA): The 2019–20 Ligue 1 was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The fourth-placed team of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, Lille, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the French Football Federation, entering the group stage, pending confirmation from UEFA.[20]
- ^ Germany (GER): VfL Wolfsburg and 1899 Hoffenheim have qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League as they will finish sixth or seventh in the 2019–20 Bundesliga. The team finishing sixth will enter the group stage and the team finishing seventh will enter the second qualifying round.
- VfL Wolfsburg will qualify for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League if they win the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
- ^ Gibraltar (GIB): The 2019–20 Gibraltar National League and the 2020 Rock Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Gibraltar. The second-placed and third-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, St Joseph's and Lincoln Red Imps, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Gibraltar Football Association, entering the preliminary round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[21]
- ^ Greece (GRE): Panathinaikos, which will finish in the top six of the 2019–20 Superleague Greece, were banned from UEFA club competitions for the first season they would qualify between the 2018–19 and 2020–21 seasons by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 24 April 2018 due to overdue payables, and since they did not qualify for either the 2018–19 or 2019–20 season, they were banned from the 2020–21 season.[22]
- ^ Liechtenstein (LIE): The 2019–20 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 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Liechtenstein Football Association, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[23]
- ^ Italy (ITA): Napoli can still qualify for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League if they finish in the top four of the 2019–20 Serie A or as winners of 2019–20 UEFA Champions League.
- ^ Luxembourg (LUX): The 2019–20 Luxembourg National Division and the 2019–20 Luxembourg Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Luxembourg. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Progrès Niederkorn, Differdange 03 and Union Titus Pétange, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Luxembourg Football Federation, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[24]
- ^ Malta (MLT): The 2019–20 Maltese Premier League and the 2019–20 Maltese FA Trophy were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Valletta, Hibernians and Sirens, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Malta Football Association.[25]
- ^ Netherlands (NED): The 2019–20 Eredivisie and the 2019–20 KNVB Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. The third-placed, fourth-placed and fifth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and Willem II, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Royal Dutch Football Association, entering the group stage, third qualifying round and second qualifying round respectively, pending confirmation from UEFA.[26]
- ^ North Macedonia (MKD): The 2019–20 Macedonian First Football League was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia. The third-placed, fourth-placed and fifth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Shkëndija, Renova and Shkupi, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Football Federation of North Macedonia, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA. The second-placed team, Sileks, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League to replace the top team, Vardar, who failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[27]
- ^ Northern Ireland (NIR): The 2019–20 NIFL Premiership was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland. The second-placed team of the league at the time of the abandonement, Coleraine, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Irish Football Association, entering the preliminary round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[28]
- ^ Republic of Ireland (IRL): Derry City are a club based in Northern Ireland but play in the Republic of Ireland's league system, and qualify for the Europa League through one of the berths for the Republic of Ireland.
- ^ San Marino (SMR): The 2019–20 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio and the 2019–20 Coppa Titano were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in San Marino. The second-placed and third-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Folgore and Tre Penne, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the San Marino Football Federation, entering the preliminary round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[29]
- ^ Scotland (SCO): The 2019–20 Scottish Premiership was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. The second-placed and third-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, Rangers and Motherwell, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Scottish Football Association, entering the first qualifying round, pending confirmation from UEFA.[30]
- Rangers will qualify for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League if they win the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
- Rangers will enter the second qualifying round and Aberdeen will enter the first qualifying round if Celtic win the 2019–20 Scottish Cup or if the cup is not completed by the UEFA deadline.
- ^ Slovenia (SVN): Mura can still qualify for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League if they win the 2019–20 Slovenian PrvaLiga.
- ^ Sweden (SWE): Malmö FF will enter the second qualifying round if they win the 2019–20 Svenska Cupen.
- ^ Turkey (TUR): Trabzonspor were banned from all UEFA club competitions for the 2020–21 season (if they qualify, otherwise for the 2021–22 season) by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 3 June 2020 due to breaches of the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations.[31]
- ^ Wales (WAL): The 2019–20 Cymru Premier was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, and the 2019–20 Welsh Cup was postponed indefinitely meaning it could not be completed by the UEFA deadline. 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, The New Saints, Bala Town and Barry Town United, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Football Association of Wales, entering the first qualifying round (second-placed and third-placed teams) and preliminary round respectively, pending confirmation from UEFA.[32]
Schedule
The tournament would originally start in June 2020, but had been delayed to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. The new schedule was announced by UEFA on 17 June 2020.[33]
All qualifying matches, including the play-off round, will be played in single leg matches.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | TBD | 20 August 2020 | |
| First qualifying round | TBD | 27 August 2020 | ||
| Second qualifying round | TBD | 17 September 2020 | ||
| Third qualifying round | TBD | 24 September 2020 | ||
| Play-off | Play-off round | TBD | 1 October 2020 | |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 2 October 2020 (Athens) |
22 October 2020 | |
| Matchday 2 | 29 October 2020 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 5 November 2020 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 26 November 2020 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 3 December 2020 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 10 December 2020 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 32 | 14 December 2020 | 18 February 2021 | 25 February 2021 |
| Round of 16 | 26 February 2021 | 11 March 2021 | 18 March 2021 | |
| Quarter-finals | 19 March 2021 | 8 April 2021 | 15 April 2021 | |
| Semi-finals | 29 April 2021 | 6 May 2021 | ||
| Final | 26 May 2021 at Stadion Energa Gdańsk, Gdańsk | |||
The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows (all draws held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[34] Matches may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | 9 June 2020 | 25 June 2020 | 2 July 2020 |
| First qualifying round | 16 June 2020 | 9 July 2020 | 16 July 2020 | |
| Second qualifying round | 17 June 2020 | 23 July 2020 | 30 July 2020 | |
| Third qualifying round | 20 July 2020 | 6 August 2020 | 13 August 2020 | |
| Play-off | Play-off round | 3 August 2020 | 20 August 2020 | 27 August 2020 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 28 August 2020 (Monaco) |
17 September 2020 | |
| Matchday 2 | 1 October 2020 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 22 October 2020 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 5 November 2020 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 26 November 2020 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 10 December 2020 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 32 | 14 December 2020 | 18 February 2021 | 25 February 2021 |
| Round of 16 | 26 February 2021 | 11 March 2021 | 18 March 2021 | |
| Quarter-finals | 19 March 2021 | 8 April 2021 | 15 April 2021 | |
| Semi-finals | 29 April 2021 | 6 May 2021 | ||
| Final | 26 May 2021 at Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Seville | |||
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