How association club coefficients are calculated
Sunday, July 1, 2018
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The text that follows has been taken from Annex D of the official UEFA Champions League regulations.
D.1 System overview
UEFA calculates the coefficient of each association each season based on the clubs' results in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League. The season coefficients from the five most recent seasons are used to determine the positions of the associations in the access list (association coefficient).
D.2 Reference periods for rankings
The associations' positions in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League access list (Annex A) are determined on the basis of the five-season association coefficients established at the end of the 2022/23 season, i.e. the cumulative total of the associations' season coefficients from seasons 2018/19 to 2022/23 inclusive.
D.3 Association coefficient calculation
The season coefficient of an association is calculated by adding up the points obtained by all its clubs in a given season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League and then dividing the total by the number of clubs from that association that took part in the three UEFA club competitions in question.
Points are awarded as follows:
a. 2 points for a win (1 point for qualifying and play-off matches);
b. 1 point for a draw (0.5 points for qualifying and play-off matches);
c. 0 points for a defeat.
If a club refused to enter a UEFA competition for which it qualified or was excluded from or not admitted to the competition and not replaced by another club from the same association, the association's coefficient is calculated by dividing the total number of points obtained by its clubs by the number of clubs the association was entitled to enter according to the access list.
D.5 Bonus points
Clubs are awarded the following bonus points based on their final position in the league phase rankings:
Clubs that reach the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals or final are awarded 1.5 extra points for each such round in the UEFA Champions League, 1 extra point for each such round in the UEFA Europa League, and 0.5 extra points for each such round in the UEFA Conference League.
These bonus points are also included in the association coefficient calculation.
D.7 Calculation principles
Match points are awarded based on the final scores ratified by UEFA. Penalty shoot-outs do not count.
Coefficients are calculated to the thousandth and not rounded up.
If competition rounds are changed and matches are played as single-leg instead of two-legged ties, the points awarded under Annex D.3, Annex D.4.1.b, Annex D.4.2.b and Annex D.4.3.b are adapted as follows:
a. 3 points for a win in regular time or extra time (1.5 points for qualifying and play-off matches);
b. 2 points for a draw in extra time (1 point for qualifying and play-off matches);
c. 1 point for a defeat in regular time or extra time (0.5 points for qualifying and play-off matches).
This does not apply to the final of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or UEFA Conference League.
D.8 Equal coefficients
If two or more associations are ranked equally, the following criteria are applied, in this order, to determine their final rankings:
• their coefficients in the most recent of the seasons on which the rankings are based;
• their coefficients in the next most recent season in which they are not equal.
D.9 Final decisions
The UEFA administration takes final decisions on any matters not provided for in this annex.