2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League

The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA.

2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
The Arena Kombëtare in Tirana hosted the final.
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
6 July – 26 August 2021
Competition proper:
14 September 2021 – 25 May 2022
TeamsCompetition proper: 32+8
Total: 136+45 (from 54 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsItaly Roma (1st title)
Runners-upNetherlands Feyenoord
Tournament statistics
Matches played140
Goals scored401 (2.86 per match)
Attendance1,978,850 (14,135 per match)
Top scorer(s)Cyriel Dessers (Feyenoord)
10 goals
Best player(s)Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)[1]
Best young playerLuis Sinisterra (Feyenoord)[2]

The final was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania,[3] with Roma defeating Feyenoord 1–0.[4][5] As winners, Roma automatically qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League group stage, although they had already done so through their league position.[6]

This season was the first since 1999–2000 (the first season after the dissolution of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup) where three major European club competitions (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League) took place.[7]

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 scored the same number of aggregate goals, the winner was not decided by the number of away goals scored by each team, but always by 30 minutes of extra time, and if the two teams scored the same number of goals in extra time, the winner was decided by a penalty shoot-out.[8]

Association team allocation

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A total of 181 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations participated 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 was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[9]

  • Associations 1–5 each had one team qualify.
  • Associations 6–15 and 51–55 each had two teams qualify.
  • Associations 16–50 (except Liechtenstein)[Note LIE] each had three teams qualify.
    • As the UEFA Europa Conference League title holders' berth in the UEFA Europa League was vacant this season, association 16 (Cyprus) had their domestic cup winner promoted from the Europa Conference League to the Europa League, so they only had two teams qualify.
  • Liechtenstein had one team qualify (Liechtenstein organised 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 were transferred to the Europa Conference League.
    • For this season, only 19 teams eliminated from the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League were transferred, as there was one fewer team competing in the Champions Path qualifying of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League.

Association ranking

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For the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2020 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2015–16 to 2019–20.[12]

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations could 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
Association ranking for 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1   Spain 102.283 1 –1 (UCL)
2   England 90.462 +1 (UEL)
3   Germany 74.784
4   Italy 70.653
5   France 59.248 +1 (UEL)
6   Portugal 49.449 2
7   Russia 45.549
8   Belgium 37.900
9   Ukraine 36.100 +1 (UEL)
10   Netherlands 35.750 +2 (UEL)
11   Turkey 33.600 +1 (UEL)
12   Austria 32.925 +1 (UEL)
13   Denmark 29.250 +2 (UEL)
14   Scotland 27.875 +2 (UEL)
15   Czech Republic 27.300 +3 (UEL)
16   Cyprus 26.750 +2 (UEL)
17   Switzerland 26.400 3
18   Greece 26.300
19   Serbia 25.500
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20   Croatia 24.875 3
21   Sweden 22.750
22   Norway 21.750 +1 (UCL)
23   Israel 19.625 +1 (UCL)
24   Kazakhstan 19.250 +1 (UEL)
25   Belarus 18.875 +1 (UCL)
26   Azerbaijan 18.750 +1 (UEL)
27   Bulgaria 17.375
28   Romania 16.700 +1 (UEL)
29   Poland 16.625
30   Slovakia 15.875 +1 (UEL)
31   Liechtenstein 13.500 1 [Note LIE]
32   Slovenia 13.000 3 +1 (UEL)
33   Hungary 12.875
34   Luxembourg 8.000 +1 (UCL)
35   Lithuania 7.875 +1 (UEL)
36   Armenia 7.625 +1 (UEL)
37   Latvia 7.625 +1 (UCL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
38   Albania 7.375 3 +1 (UCL)
39   North Macedonia 7.375 +1 (UCL)
40   Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.875 +1 (UCL)
41   Moldova 6.750
42   Republic of Ireland 6.700 +1 (UCL)
43   Finland 6.500 +1 (UEL)
44   Georgia 5.750 +1 (UCL)
45   Malta 5.750 +1 (UCL)
46   Iceland 5.375 +1 (UCL)
47   Wales 5.000 +1 (UCL)
48   Northern Ireland 4.875 +1 (UCL)
49   Gibraltar 4.750 +1 (UEL)
50   Montenegro 4.375 +1 (UCL)
51   Estonia 4.375 2 +1 (UEL)
52   Kosovo 4.000 +1 (UCL)
53   Faroe Islands 3.750 +1 (UCL)
54   Andorra 2.831 +1 (UCL)
55   San Marino 0.666 +1 (UCL)

Distribution

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The following is the access list for this season.[13] In the default access list, the title holders of the Europa Conference League qualify for the Europa League group stage. However, since this berth was vacant this season, the following changes to the access list were made:

  • The cup winners of association 16 (Cyprus) enter the Europa League third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
  • 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 and not passed down to any other Spanish club. The following changes were confirmed by UEFA:[14]

  • 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 to 35 (Slovenia, Hungary, Luxembourg, 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 were 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 were 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 entered the Champions Path second qualifying round (one of the losers from the Champions League first qualifying round was drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round).

Access list for 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round Teams transferred from Champions League or Europa League
First qualifying round
(66 teams)
  • 20 domestic cup winners from associations 36–55
  • 25 domestic league runners-up from associations 30–55 (except Liechtenstein)[Note LIE]
  • 21 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 29–50 (except Liechtenstein)[Note LIE]
Second qualifying round
(108 teams)
Champions Path
(18 teams)
  • 3 teams eliminated from Champions League preliminary round
  • 15 teams eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
Main Path
(90 teams)
  • 17 domestic cup winners from associations 19–35
  • 14 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–29
  • 16 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–28
  • 9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
  • 1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 6
  • 33 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
(64 teams)
Champions Path
(10 teams)
  • 9 winners from the second qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 1 team eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
Main Path
(54 teams)
  • 2 domestic cup winners from associations 17–18
  • 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
  • 45 winners from the second qualifying round (Main Path)
Play-off round
(44 teams)
Champions Path
(10 teams)
  • 5 winners from the third qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 5 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path
(34 teams)
  • 1 domestic league fifth-placed team from association 5
  • 3 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–4 (EFL Cup winners for England) (except Europa League title holder)
  • 27 winners from the third qualifying round (Main Path)
  • 3 teams eliminated from Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path)
Group stage
(32 teams)
  • 5 winners from the play-off round (Champions Path)
  • 17 winners from the play-off round (Main Path)
  • 10 teams eliminated from Europa League play-off round
Preliminary knockout round
(16 teams)
  • 8 group runners-up from the group stage
  • 8 group third-placed teams from Europa League group stage
Knockout phase
(16 teams)
  • 8 group winners from the group stage
  • 8 winners from the preliminary knockout round

Teams

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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 were subject to approval by UEFA as per the guidelines for entry to European competitions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round were divided into Champions Path (CH) and Main Path (MP).

CC: 2021 UEFA club coefficients.[16]

Qualified teams for 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
Entry round Teams
Knockout round play-offs   Sparta Prague (UEL GS)   PSV Eindhoven (UEL GS)   Leicester City (UEL GS)   Fenerbahçe (UEL GS)
  Marseille (UEL GS)   Midtjylland (UEL GS)   Celtic (UEL GS)   Rapid Wien (UEL GS)
Group stage   Zorya Luhansk (UEL PO)   AZ (UEL PO)   Randers (UEL PO)   Slavia Prague (UEL PO)
  Omonia (UEL PO)   CFR Cluj (UEL PO)   Slovan Bratislava (UEL PO)   Mura (UEL PO)
  Alashkert (UEL PO)   HJK (UEL PO)
Play-off round CH   Kairat (UEL CH Q3)   Neftçi Baku (UEL CH Q3)   Žalgiris (UEL CH Q3)   Lincoln Red Imps (UEL CH Q3)
  Flora (UEL CH Q3)
MP   Tottenham Hotspur (7th)   Union Berlin (7th)   Roma (7th)   Rennes (6th)
  St Johnstone (UEL MP Q3)   Jablonec (UEL MP Q3)   Anorthosis Famagusta (UEL MP Q3)
Third qualifying round CH   Shamrock Rovers (UCL Q1)[Note UCL Q1]
MP   Paços de Ferreira (5th)   Rubin Kazan (4th)   Anderlecht (4th)   Kolos Kovalivka (4th)
  Vitesse (4th)   Trabzonspor (4th)   LASK (4th)   Luzern (CW)
  PAOK (CW)
Second qualifying round CH   Bodø/Glimt (UCL Q1)   Maccabi Haifa (UCL Q1)   Shakhtyor Soligorsk (UCL Q1)   Fola Esch (UCL Q1)
  Riga (UCL Q1)   Teuta (UCL Q1)   Shkëndija (UCL Q1)   Borac Banja Luka (UCL Q1)
  Dinamo Tbilisi (UCL Q1)   Hibernians (UCL Q1)   Valur (UCL Q1)   Connah's Quay Nomads (UCL Q1)
  Linfield (UCL Q1)   Budućnost Podgorica (UCL Q1)   Prishtina (UCL Q1)   Inter Club d'Escaldes (UCL PR F)
  HB Tórshavn (UCL PR SF)   Folgore (UCL PR SF)
MP   Santa Clara (6th)   Sochi (5th)   Gent (PW)   Vorskla Poltava (5th)
  Feyenoord (PW)   Sivasspor (5th)   Austria Wien (PW)   Copenhagen (3rd)
  AGF (PW)   Hibernian (3rd)   Aberdeen (4th)   Slovácko (4th)
  Viktoria Plzeň (5th)   Apollon Limassol (2nd)   AEL Limassol (3rd)   Basel (2nd)
  Servette (3rd)   Aris Thessaloniki (3rd)   AEK Athens (4th)   Partizan (2nd)
  Čukarički (3rd)   Vojvodina (4th)   Osijek (2nd)   Rijeka (3rd)
  Hajduk Split (4th)   Hammarby IF (CW)   IF Elfsborg (2nd)   BK Häcken (3rd)
  Molde (2nd)   Vålerenga (3rd)   Rosenborg (4th)[Note NOR]   Maccabi Tel Aviv (CW)
  Ashdod (3rd)   Hapoel Be'er Sheva (4th)   Tobol (2nd)   Astana (3rd)
  Shakhter Karagandy (4th)[Note KAZ]   BATE Borisov (CW)   Torpedo Zhodino (3rd)   Dynamo Brest (4th)
  Keşla (CW)   Qarabağ (2nd)   Sumgayit (3rd)   CSKA Sofia (CW)
  Lokomotiv Plovdiv (2nd)   Arda (PW)   Universitatea Craiova (CW)   FCSB (2nd)
  Sepsi OSK (PW)   Raków Częstochowa (CW)   Pogoń Szczecin (3rd)   DAC Dunajská Streda (2nd)
  Vaduz (Abd-Cup)[Note LIE]   Olimpija Ljubljana (CW)   Újpest (CW)   F91 Dudelange (2nd)
  Panevėžys (CW)
First qualifying round   Śląsk Wrocław (4th)   Spartak Trnava (3rd)   Žilina (PW)   Maribor (2nd)
  Domžale (4th)   Puskás Akadémia (2nd)   MOL Fehérvár (3rd)   Swift Hesperange (3rd)
  Racing Luxembourg (4th)[Note LUX]   Sūduva (2nd)   Kauno Žalgiris (3rd)   Ararat Yerevan (CW)
  Noah (2nd)   Urartu (3rd)   Liepāja (CW)   RFS (2nd)
  Valmiera (3rd)   Vllaznia (CW)   Partizani (3rd)   Laçi (4th)
  Sileks (CW)   Shkupi (2nd)   Struga (3rd)   Sarajevo (CW)
  Velež Mostar (3rd)   Široki Brijeg (4th)   Sfântul Gheorghe (CW)   Petrocub Hîncești (2nd)
  Milsami Orhei (3rd)   Dundalk (CW)   Bohemians (2nd)   Sligo Rovers (4th)
  Inter Turku (2nd)   KuPS (3rd)   Honka (4th)   Gagra (CW)
  Dinamo Batumi (2nd)   Dila Gori (3rd)   Gżira United (Abd-3rd)[Note MLT]   Birkirkara (Abd-4th)[Note MLT]
  Mosta (Abd-6th)[Note MLT]   FH (Abd-2nd)[Note ISL]   Stjarnan (Abd-3rd)[Note ISL]   Breiðablik (Abd-4th)[Note ISL]
  The New Saints (2nd)   Bala Town (3rd)[Note WAL]   Newtown (PW)   Coleraine (2nd)
  Glentoran (3rd)   Larne (PW)   Europa (2nd)   St Joseph's (3rd)
  Mons Calpe (4th)   Sutjeska (2nd)   Dečić (3rd)   Podgorica (4th)
  FCI Levadia (CW)   Paide Linnameeskond (2nd)   Llapi (CW)   Drita (2nd)
  NSÍ (2nd)   (3rd)   Sant Julià (CW)   FC Santa Coloma (3rd)
  La Fiorita (CW)   Tre Penne (3rd)

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

  1. ^
    Champions League (UCL Q1): One of the Champions League first qualifying round losers was drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round (Champions Path), as one fewer loser was transferred to the second qualifying round (Champions Path), due to a Champions League group stage berth vacated by the Champions League title holders.
  2. ^
    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.[17]
  3. ^
    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.[18]
  4. ^
    Liechtenstein (LIE):
  5. ^
    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.[20]
  6. ^
    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.[21][22][23]
  7. ^
    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.[24]
  8. ^
    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.[25]

Schedule

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The schedule of the competition was as follows.[26] Matches were scheduled for Thursdays apart from the final, which took place on a Wednesday, though exceptionally could take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts (especially featuring teams from countries where there were very few sufficient stadiums, such as Gibraltar and Wales). Scheduled kick-off times starting from the group stage were 18:45 (instead of 18:55 previously) and 21:00 CEST/CET, though exceptionally could take place at 16:30 due to geographical reasons.[27]

All draws started at 13:00 or 14:00 CEST/CET and were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. On 16 July 2021, UEFA announced that the group stage draw would be held in Istanbul, Turkey.[28]

Schedule for 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
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 Play-off round 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

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The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 15 June 2021, 13:30 CEST.[29] 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.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
FCI Levadia   4–2   St Joseph's 3–1 1–1
Inter Turku   1–3   Puskás Akadémia 1–1 0–2
Drita   3–1[A]   Dečić 2–1 1–0
Sūduva   2–1   Valmiera 2–1 0–0
Birkirkara   2–1[A]   La Fiorita 1–0 1–1
Mons Calpe   1–5   FC Santa Coloma 1–1 0–4
Velež Mostar   4–2   Coleraine 2–1 2–1
Domžale   2–1   Swift Hesperange 1–0 1–1
Shkupi   3–1   Llapi 2–0 1–1
Tre Penne   0–7[A]   Dinamo Batumi 0–4 0–3
Partizani   8–4[A]   Sfîntul Gheorghe 5–2 3–2
Maribor   2–0   Urartu 1–0 1–0
Podgorica   1–3[A]   Laçi 1–0 0–3 (a.e.t.)
Milsami Orhei   1–0   Sarajevo 0–0 1–0
Noah   1–5   KuPS 1–0 0–5
Žilina   6–3   Dila Gori 5–1 1–2
FH   3–1   Sligo Rovers 1–0 2–1
Paide Linnameeskond   1–4   Śląsk Wrocław 1–2 0–2
RFS   6–5   2–3 4–2 (a.e.t.)
Bala Town   0–2   Larne 0–1 0–1
MOL Fehérvár   1–3   Ararat Yerevan 1–1 0–2
Sutjeska   2–1   Gagra 1–0 1–1
Sileks   1–2   Petrocub Hîncești 1–1 0–1
Široki Brijeg   3–4   Vllaznia 3–1 0–3
Stjarnan   1–4   Bohemians 1–1 0–3
Glentoran   1–3   The New Saints 1–1 0–2
Sant Julià   1–1 (3–5 p)   Gżira United 0–0 1–1 (a.e.t.)
Europa   0–2   Kauno Žalgiris 0–0 0–2
Dundalk   5–0   Newtown 4–0 1–0
Mosta   3–4[A]   Spartak Trnava 3–2 0–2
Liepāja   5–2[A]   Struga 1–1 4–1
Racing Luxembourg   2–5   Breiðablik 2–3 0–2
Honka   3–1   NSÍ Runavík 0–0 3–1
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second qualifying round

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The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 16 June 2021, 13:30 CEST.[30] 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.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Champions Path
Shamrock Rovers   Bye N/A
Teuta   3–2   Inter Club d'Escaldes 0–2 3–0 (a.e.t.)
Riga   3–0   Shkëndija 2–0 1–0
Dinamo Tbilisi   2–7   Maccabi Haifa 1–2 1–5
HB Tórshavn   6–0[A]   Budućnost Podgorica 4–0 2–0
Linfield   4–0   Borac Banja Luka 4–0 0–0
Shakhtyor Soligorsk   1–3   Fola Esch 1–2 0–1
Folgore   3–7   Hibernians 1–3 2–4
Prishtina   6–5   Connah's Quay Nomads 4–1 2–4
Valur   0–6   Bodø/Glimt 0–3 0–3
  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Main Path
KuPS   5–4   Vorskla Poltava 2–2 3–2 (a.e.t.)
FCSB   2–2 (3–5 p)   Shakhter Karagandy 1–0 1–2 (a.e.t.)
Arda   0–6   Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0–2 0–4
Apollon Limassol   3–5   Žilina 1–3 2–2
Čukarički   2–0   Sumgayit 0–0 2–0
Sutjeska   1–3   Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–0 1–3
Astana   3–2   Aris Thessaloniki 2–0 1–2 (a.e.t.)
Petrocub Hîncești   0–2   Sivasspor 0–1 0–1
AEL Limassol   2–0   Vllaznia 1–0 1–0
Sochi   7–2   Keşla 3–0 4–2
IF Elfsborg   9–0   Milsami Orhei 4–0 5–0
RFS   5–0   Puskás Akadémia 3–0 2–0
Dinamo Batumi   4–2   BATE Borisov 0–1 4–1
Partizan   3–0   DAC Dunajská Streda 1–0 2–0
Dundalk   4–3   FCI Levadia 2–2 2–1
Gżira United   0–3   Rijeka 0–2 0–1
Viktoria Plzeň   4–2   Dynamo Brest 2–1 2–1
Kauno Žalgiris   1–10   The New Saints 0–5 1–5
Domžale   2–1   Honka 1–1 1–0
CSKA Sofia   0–0 (3–1 p)   Liepāja 0–0 0–0 (a.e.t.)
Shkupi   0–5   Santa Clara 0–3 0–2
Hibernian   5–1   FC Santa Coloma 3–0 2–1
Larne   3–2   AGF 2–1 1–1
Gent   4–2   Vålerenga 4–0 0–2
F91 Dudelange   0–4   Bohemians 0–1 0–3
Velež Mostar   2–2 (3–2 p)   AEK Athens 2–1 0–1 (a.e.t.)
Qarabağ   1–0   Ashdod 0–0 1–0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv   1–1 (3–2 p)   Slovácko 1–0 0–1 (a.e.t.)
Ararat Yerevan   5–7   Śląsk Wrocław 2–4 3–3
Laçi   1–0[A]   Universitatea Craiova 1–0 0–0
Drita   2–3   Feyenoord 0–0 2–3
Basel   5–0   Partizani 3–0 2–0
Pogoń Szczecin   0–1   Osijek 0–0 0–1
Austria Wien   2–3   Breiðablik 1–1 1–2
Olimpija Ljubljana   1–1 (5–4 p)   Birkirkara 1–0 0–1 (a.e.t.)
Hammarby IF   4–1   Maribor 3–1 1–0
Molde   3–2   Servette 3–0 0–2
Újpest   5–2   Vaduz 2–1 3–1
Sūduva   0–0 (3–4 p)   Raków Częstochowa 0–0 0–0 (a.e.t.)
Spartak Trnava   1–1 (4–3 p)   Sepsi OSK 0–0 1–1 (a.e.t.)
FH   1–6   Rosenborg 0–2 1–4
Copenhagen   9–1   Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino 4–1 5–0
Panevėžys   0–2   Vojvodina 0–1 0–1
Hajduk Split   3–4   Tobol 2–0 1–4 (a.e.t.)
Aberdeen   5–3   BK Häcken 5–1 0–2
  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Third qualifying round

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The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 19 July 2021, 14:00 CEST.[31] 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.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Champions Path
Maccabi Haifa   7–3   HB Tórshavn 7–2 0–1
Linfield   2–4   Fola Esch 1–2 1–2
Shamrock Rovers   3–0   Teuta 1–0 2–0
Riga   4–2   Hibernians 0–1 4–1 (a.e.t.)
Prishtina   2–3   Bodø/Glimt 2–1 0–2
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Main Path
Dinamo Batumi   2–3   Sivasspor 1–2 1–1 (a.e.t.)
KuPS   5–4   Astana 1–1 4–3
Sochi   3–3 (2–4 p)   Partizan 1–1 2–2 (a.e.t.)
Śląsk Wrocław   2–5   Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2–1 0–4
Santa Clara   3–0   Olimpija Ljubljana 2–0 1–0
Újpest   1–6   Basel 1–2 0–4
IF Elfsborg   5–2   Velež Mostar 1–1 4–1
Kolos Kovalivka   0–0 (1–3 p)   Shakhter Karagandy 0–0 0–0 (a.e.t.)
Paços de Ferreira   4–1   Larne 4–0 0–1
Luzern   0–6   Feyenoord 0–3 0–3
Gent   3–2   RFS 2–2 1–0
Hibernian   2–5   Rijeka 1–1 1–4
Breiðablik   3–5   Aberdeen 2–3 1–2
Trabzonspor   4–4 (4–3 p)   Molde 3–3 1–1 (a.e.t.)
Bohemians   2–3   PAOK 2–1 0–2
The New Saints   5–5 (1–4 p)   Viktoria Plzeň 4–2 1–3 (a.e.t.)
Raków Częstochowa   1–0   Rubin Kazan 0–0 1–0 (a.e.t.)
Lokomotiv Plovdiv   3–5   Copenhagen 1–1 2–4
Čukarički   4–6   Hammarby IF 3–1 1–5
Tobol   0–6   Žilina 0–1 0–5
CSKA Sofia   5–3   Osijek 4–2 1–1
Vojvodina   1–7   LASK 0–1 1–6
AEL Limassol   1–2   Qarabağ 1–1 0–1
Spartak Trnava   0–1   Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–0 0–1
Rosenborg   8–2   Domžale 6–1 2–1
Laçi   1–5   Anderlecht 0–3 1–2
Vitesse   4–3   Dundalk 2–2 2–1

Play-off round

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The draw for the play-off round was held on 2 August 2021, 14:00 CEST.[32] 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.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Champions Path
Žalgiris   2–3   Bodø/Glimt 2–2 0–1
Neftçi Baku   3–7   Maccabi Haifa 3–3 0–4
Flora   5–2   Shamrock Rovers 4–2 1–0
Riga   2–4   Lincoln Red Imps 1–1 1–3 (a.e.t.)
Fola Esch   2–7   Kairat 1–4 1–3
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Main Path
Qarabağ   4–1   Aberdeen 1–0 3–1
Basel   4–4 (4–3 p)   Hammarby IF 3–1 1–3 (a.e.t.)
Viktoria Plzeň   2–3   CSKA Sofia 2–0 0–3 (a.e.t.)
Paços de Ferreira   1–3   Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 0–3
Rennes   5–1   Rosenborg 2–0 3–1
Anderlecht   4–5   Vitesse 3–3 1–2
LASK   3–1   St Johnstone 1–1 2–0
Shakhter Karagandy   1–4   Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–2 0–2
PAOK   3–1   Rijeka 1–1 2–0
KuPS   0–4   Union Berlin 0–4 0–0
Feyenoord   6–3   IF Elfsborg 5–0 1–3
Raków Częstochowa   1–3   Gent 1–0 0–3
Sivasspor   1–7   Copenhagen 1–2 0–5
Santa Clara   2–3   Partizan 2–1 0–2
Trabzonspor   1–5   Roma 1–2 0–3
Hapoel Be'er Sheva   1–3   Anorthosis Famagusta 0–0 1–3
Jablonec   8–1   Žilina 5–1 3–0

Group stage

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Location of teams of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.
  Brown: Group A;   Red: Group B;   Orange: Group C;   Yellow: Group D;
  Green: Group E;   Blue: Group F;   Purple: Group G;   Pink: Group H.

The draw for the group stage was held on 27 August 2021, 13:30 CEST (14:30 TRT), in Istanbul, Turkey.[28][33] 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.[16] 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.[34]

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.

All teams made their debut appearance in the group stage. 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.

Location of Benelux teams of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LASK MTA HJK ALA
1   LASK 6 5 1 0 12 1 +11 16 Advance to round of 16 1–1 3–0 2–0
2   Maccabi Tel Aviv 6 3 2 1 14 4 +10 11 Advance to knockout round play-offs 0–1 3–0 4–1
3   HJK 6 2 0 4 5 15 −10 6 0–2 0–5 1–0
4   Alashkert 6 0 1 5 4 15 −11 1 0–3 1–1 2–4
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GNT PAR ANO FLO
1   Gent 6 4 1 1 6 2 +4 13 Advance to round of 16 1–1 2–0 1–0
2   Partizan 6 2 2 2 6 4 +2 8 Advance to knockout round play-offs 0–1 1–1 2–0
3   Anorthosis Famagusta 6 1 3 2 6 9 −3 6 1–0 0–2 2–2
4   Flora 6 1 2 3 5 8 −3 5 0–1 1–0 2–2
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ROM BOD ZOR CSS
1   Roma 6 4 1 1 18 11 +7 13 Advance to round of 16 2–2 4–0 5–1
2   Bodø/Glimt 6 3 3 0 14 5 +9 12 Advance to knockout round play-offs 6–1 3–1 2–0
3   Zorya Luhansk 6 2 1 3 5 11 −6 7 0–3 1–1 2–0
4   CSKA Sofia 6 0 1 5 3 13 −10 1 2–3 0–0 0–1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AZ RAN JAB CLJ
1   AZ 6 4 2 0 8 3 +5 14 Advance to round of 16 1–0 1–0 2–0
2   Randers 6 1 4 1 9 9 0 7 Advance to knockout round play-offs 2–2 2–2 2–1
3   Jablonec 6 1 3 2 6 8 −2 6 1–1 2–2 1–0
4   CFR Cluj 6 1 1 4 4 7 −3 4 0–1 1–1 2–0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FEY SLA UNI MHA
1   Feyenoord 6 4 2 0 11 6 +5 14 Advance to round of 16 2–1 3–1 2–1
2   Slavia Prague 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 Advance to knockout round play-offs 2–2 3–1 1–0
3   Union Berlin 6 2 1 3 8 9 −1 7 1–2 1–1 3–0
4   Maccabi Haifa 6 1 1 4 2 7 −5 4 0–0 1–0 0–1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification COP PAO SLO LIN
1   Copenhagen 6 5 0 1 15 5 +10 15 Advance to round of 16 1–2 2–0 3–1
2   PAOK 6 3 2 1 8 4 +4 11 Advance to knockout round play-offs 1–2 1–1 2–0
3   Slovan Bratislava 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 1–3 0–0 2–0
4   Lincoln Red Imps 6 0 0 6 2 17 −15 0 0–4 0–2 1–4
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification REN VIT TOT MUR
1   Rennes 6 4 2 0 13 7 +6 14 Advance to round of 16 3–3 2–2 1–0
2   Vitesse 6 3 1 2 12 9 +3 10 Advance to knockout round play-offs 1–2 1–0 3–1
3   Tottenham Hotspur 6 2 1 3 11 11 0 7 0–3[a] 3–2 5–1
4   Mura 6 1 0 5 5 14 −9 3 1–2 0–2 2–1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ The Tottenham Hotspur v Rennes match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Rennes due to numerous positive COVID-19 tests in the Tottenham Hotspur squad.[35]

Group H

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAS QAR OMO KAI
1   Basel 6 4 2 0 14 6 +8 14 Advance to round of 16 3–0 3–1 4–2
2   Qarabağ 6 3 2 1 10 8 +2 11 Advance to knockout round play-offs 0–0 2–2 2–1
3   Omonia 6 0 4 2 5 10 −5 4 1–1 1–4 0–0
4   Kairat 6 0 2 4 6 11 −5 2 2–3 1–2 0–0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Knockout phase

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In the knockout phase, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

  • In the draw for the knockout round play-offs, the eight group runners-up were seeded, and the eight Europa League group third-placed teams were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other. Since the identity of the Group G runners-up was not known at the time of the draw (due to the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Rennes not being played as scheduled), and could be either Tottenham Hotspur or Vitesse, they cannot be drawn against Leicester City or PSV Eindhoven.
  • In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners were seeded, and the eight winners of the knockout round play-offs were unseeded. Again, the seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
  • In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there were no seedings, and teams from the same association could be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw. A draw was also held to determine which semi-final winner was designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it was played at a neutral venue).

Bracket

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Knockout round play-offsRound of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
  Leicester City213
  Leicester City437  Rennes022
  Leicester City022
  Randers112
  PSV Eindhoven011
  PSV Eindhoven448
  PSV Eindhoven112  Copenhagen404
  Leicester City101
  Maccabi Tel Aviv011
  Roma112
  Bodø/Glimt (a.e.t.)224
  Celtic101  AZ123
  Bodø/Glimt202
  Bodø/Glimt325
  Roma145
  Vitesse011
25 May – Tirana
  Rapid Wien202  Roma112
  Roma1
  Vitesse123
  Feyenoord0
  Partizan213
  Sparta Prague011  Feyenoord538
  Feyenoord336
  Partizan123
  Slavia Prague314
  Slavia Prague437
  Fenerbahçe224  LASK145
  Feyenoord303
  Slavia Prague336
  Marseille202
  Marseille224
  Marseille336  Basel112
  Marseille213
  Qarabağ101
  PAOK101
  PAOK123
  Midtjylland112 (3)  Gent011
  PAOK (p)022 (5)


Knockout round play-offs

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The draw for the knockout round play-offs was held on 13 December 2021, 14:00 CET.[36] The first legs were played on 17 February, and the second legs were played on 24 February 2022.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Marseille   6–1   Qarabağ 3–1 3–0
PSV Eindhoven   2–1   Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–0 1–1
Fenerbahçe   4–6   Slavia Prague 2–3 2–3
Midtjylland   2–2 (3–5 p)   PAOK 1–0 1–2 (a.e.t.)
Leicester City   7–2   Randers 4–1 3–1
Celtic   1–5   Bodø/Glimt 1–3 0–2
Sparta Prague   1–3   Partizan 0–1 1–2
Rapid Wien   2–3   Vitesse 2–1 0–2

Round of 16

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The draw for the round of 16 was held on 25 February 2022, 13:00 CET.[37] The first legs were played on 10 March, and the second legs were played on 17 March 2022.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Marseille   4–2   Basel 2–1 2–1
Leicester City   3–2   Rennes 2–0 1–2
PAOK   3–1   Gent 1–0 2–1
Vitesse   1–2   Roma 0–1 1–1
PSV Eindhoven   8–4   Copenhagen 4–4 4–0
Slavia Prague