The fifth edition of the Conference League, previously known as the Europa Conference League, will be held in 2025/26 and, alongside the more prestigious European trophies, this competition also had a makeover last year. There was a league phase in the new structure, which replaced the group stage. Unlike the Champions League and Europa League, there is no automatic passage into this new league phase. Every team has to play at least one qualifying round to move into the league phase.

Roma were the first team to win this competition when they defeated Feyenoord in the 2022 final. A year later, West Ham were the victors, with Fiorentina finishing runners-up. In the 2024 final, Olympiacos became the first ever Greek side to win a major European trophy, with Fiorentina once again the losing finalists. Last season, there was another English winner, as Chelsea proved too strong for Real Betis in the final.

A total of 167 teams will contest the 2025/26 Conference League. This will include 15 of the teams eliminated from the 2025/26 Champions League, along with 41 of the teams eliminated from the 2025/26 Europa League.

The top-12 ranked football associations will have one representative each in this competition, allowing more teams from the lower-ranked associations to take part. However, that number could increase based on which teams are transferred to the tournament after being eliminated from the Champions League and Europa League.

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Who will win the 2025/26 Conference League?

At the moment, predicting the winner of the 2025/26 is an impossible task. There is no automatic path to the league phase, with the representatives of the top five associations entering at the play-off round. This means they must be successful over a two-legged match to reach the league stage.

The five teams who we know will be in that stage, based on their finish in their domestic leagues, are:

Nottingham Forest (England)
Fiorentina (Italy)
Rayo Vallecano (Spain)
Mainz (Germany)
Strasbourg (France)

Of these sides, Fiorentina have competed in three of the opening four Conference League tournaments. They reached the final twice, in 2023 and 2024, but lost on both occasions, to West Ham and Olympiacos respectively. They came close to reaching a third successive final earlier this year, before being defeated by Real Betis after extra-time at the semi-final stage.

Nottingham Forest can claim back-to-back European Cup titles from back in 1979 and 1980, and their last European appearance came 30 years ago in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup. In that tournament, they were defeated by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Rayo Vallecano have appeared in European competitions just once before, when they reached the quarter-finals of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup. Despite winning the home leg 2-1, Rayo lost to fellow Spanish side Alavés 4-2 on aggregate.

Mainz have competed in Europe more recently, but with little success. They were eliminated in the qualifying rounds in their first matches in both the 2011/12 and 2014/15 Europa Leagues, to Romanian and Greek opponents respectively. They qualified directly for the group stage of the 2016/17 Europa League, but despite winning two and drawing three of their six group-stage matches, they only finished third and didn’t progress to the knockout rounds.

Strasbourg have qualified for eight previous European competitions, dating back to 1966/67. Their best placing to date was a quarter-final appearance in the 1979/80 European Cup. Most recently, they qualified for the 2019/20 Europa League, but were eliminated by Eintracht Frankfurt in the play-off round and consequently failed to make the group stage.

Where is the Conference League Final 2025/26 being held?

The final will be held on the 27^th of May 2026 at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany.

The stadium was constructed between 2000 and 2004 and was further expanded in 2021.

The stadium has previously hosted matches in big tournaments. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, five matches were held there. These comprised four group matches and one from the round of 16. In Euro 2024, the Red Bull Arena was also used for three group matches, as well as the round-of-16 clash between Austria and Turkey.

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What is the new format for the Conference League?

The format for the Conference League changed last season, with a single 36-team league stage replacing what used to be the group stage. Each team will play matches against six different teams, three at home and three away.

The 36 teams will be comprised of:

5 winners from the play-off round (Champions Path)
19 winners from the play-off round (League Path)
12 teams eliminated from the Europa League playoff round.

How do teams qualify from the league phase of the Conference League?

The top eight sides in the league phase will qualify for the knockout phase and move directly into the round of 16.
The sides finishing in 9^th to 24^th place will compete in a two-legged playoff round to determine the other eight teams to qualify for the round of 16.
Those sides finishing in 25^th or lower will be eliminated.

What happens to the winner of Conference League?

This year’s winners will gain a place in the league stage of next season’s Europa League, provided they have not already qualified for the Champions League through their domestic league placing.

Can teams drop from the Europa League to the Conference League?

Up until the 2024/25 season, the teams who finished third in the Europa League groups were then transferred to the Conference League. With both competitions now having a league stage, rather than a group stage, that will no longer happen, and the teams finishing in the bottom-eight places in the league phase of the Europa League will be eliminated from all European competitions.

However, the 12 teams eliminated from the Europa League playoff round will move directly into the league phase of the Conference League.

Has the name of the Conference League changed?

For the start of the 2024/25 tournament, the competition has been rebranded as the UEFA Conference League. In previous seasons, it was known as the Europa Conference League.

UEFA Conference League schedule (2025/26)

First qualifying round

First leg: 10^th July, Second leg: 17^th July

Second qualifying round

First leg: 24^th July, Second leg: 31^st July

Third qualifying round

First leg: 7^th August, Second leg: 14^th August

Playoff round

Draw date: 4^th August

First leg: 21^st August, Second leg: 28^th August

League phase

Draw date: 29^th August

Matchday 1: 2^ndOctober

Matchday 2: 23^rdOctober

Matchday 3: 6^thNovember

Matchday 4: 27^thNovember

Matchday 5: 11^thDecember

Matchday 6: 18^thDecember

Knockout phase

Draw date: 16^th January

Knockout round playoffs: First leg: 19^th February, Second Leg 26^th February

Draw date for round of 16 onwards: 27^th February

Round of 16: First leg: 12^th March, Second Leg 19^th March

Quarter-finals: First leg: 9^th April, Second Leg 16^th April

Semi-finals: First leg: 30^th April, Second Leg 7^th May

Final: 27^th May

Previous Conference League finals

2024/25: Chelsea 4-1 Real Betis

2023/24: Olympiacos 1-0 Fiorentina (after extra-time)

2022/23: West Ham 2-1 Fiorentina

2021/22: Roma 1-0 Feyenoord

Follow all the European action with the Marathonbet blog. You’ll find previews and tips on the Champions League and Europa League, as well as full weekly coverage of the English Premier League.