UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round draw

The UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round draw took place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland on Monday 2 August.

The teams were drawn into 22 ties, with the winners advancing to the group stage along with the ten teams eliminated in the UEFA Europa League play-offs. The ties were set ahead of the third qualifying round with the teams involved confirmed after the second legs on 10 and 12 August.

Europa Conference League play-off draw

Champions path

Žalgiris Vilnius (LTU) vs Bodø/Glimt (NOR)
Neftçi (AZE) vs Maccabi Haifa (ISR)
Flora Tallinn (EST) vs Shamrock Rovers (IRL)
Riga (LVA) vs Lincoln Red Imps (GIB)
Fola Esch (LUX) vs Kairat Almaty (KAZ)

Main path

Qarabağ (AZE) vs Aberdeen (SCO)
Basel (SUI) vs Hammarby (SWE)
Viktoria Plzeň (CZE) vs CSKA-Sofia (BUL)
Paços de Ferreira (POR) vs Tottenham (ENG)

Rennes (FRA) vs Rosenborg (NOR)
Anderlecht (BEL) vs Vitesse (NED)
LASK (AUT) vs St Johnstone (SCO)
Shakhter Karagandy (KAZ) vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)

PAOK (GRE) vs Rijeka (CRO)
KuPS Kuopio (FIN) vs Union Berlin (GER)
Feyenoord (NED) vs Elfsborg (SWE)
Raków Czestochowa (POL) vs Gent (BEL)

Sivasspor (TUR) vs Copenhagen (DEN)
Santa Clara (POR) vs Partizan (SRB)
Trabzonspor (TUR) vs Roma (ITA)
Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR) vs Anorthosis Famagusta (CYP)
Jablonec (CZE) vs Žilina (SVK)

What happens next?

Ties take place on 19 and 26 August, with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if required after the second leg. The 22 winners advance to the UEFA Europa Conference League draw on 27 August.

How the draw worked

There are two paths at this stage: the champions path and the main path.

Champions path

Teams progressing from the third qualifying round champions path join teams eliminated in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round champions path (all games played on 5 and 12 August). The clubs eliminated in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League were seeded.

The balls containing the names of the seeded teams were placed in one bowl and the balls containing the unseeded sides were put into another bowl. One ball was taken from each bowl and placed in a large empty bowl in the middle, where they were shuffled. The first team drawn will play at home in the first leg. The same procedure was carried out with the remaining balls to complete the pairings.

Main path

The third qualifying round main path winners will be joined by teams eliminated in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round main path (all games played on 5 and 12 August).

The clubs were split into two pots, seeded and unseeded, in accordance with the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season. As the third qualifying round ties are not played before the draw, the coefficient of the club with the higher coefficient of the two clubs involved in an undecided tie was used for the purposes of the draw.

The 34 teams (four that enter the competition at this stage, twenty-seven that enter through the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League main path and three that enter through the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round main path) were divided into three groups of eight teams (group 1 to 3) and one group of ten teams (group 4) with each group divided into an equal number of seeded and unseeded teams. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

All the clubs in groups 1 to 3 were randomly assigned a number: 1-4 for seeded teams and 5-8 for unseeded teams. The balls containing the numbers of the seeded teams were placed in one bowl and the balls containing the unseeded sides were put into another bowl. A ball was taken from each bowl and placed in an empty bowl, where they were shuffled. The first number drawn was designated as the home team for the first leg. The result applied to all three groups. The same procedure was carried out with the remaining balls to complete the pairings.

All the clubs in group 4 were randomly assigned a number: 1-5 for seeded teams and 6-10 for unseeded teams. The balls containing the numbers of the seeded teams were placed in one bowl and the balls containing the unseeded sides were put into another bowl. A ball was taken from each bowl and placed into an empty bowl, where they are shuffled. The first number drawn designated the home team for the first leg. The same procedure was carried out with the remaining balls to complete the pairings.

Any changes of date and fixture reversals will be communicated to clubs and national associations by 18:00 CET on 3 August.

Which teams were involved?

Champions path

Seeded
Omonoia FC (CYP) / FC Flora Tallinn (EST)
NS Mura (SVN) / FK Žalgiris Vilnius (LTU)
FC Kairat Almaty (KAZ) / Alashkert FC (ARM)
Lincoln Red Imps FC (GIB) / ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Neftçi PFK (AZE) / HJK Helsinki (FIN)

Unseeded
Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR) / HB Tórshavn (FRO)
Linfield FC (NIR) / CS Fola Esch (LUX)
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL) / KF Teuta (ALB)
Riga FC (LVA) / Hibernians FC (MLT)
FC Prishtina (KOS) / FK Bodø/Glimt (NOR).

Main path

GROUP 1

Seeded
1 Újpest FC (HUN) / FC Basel 1893 (SUI)
2 AEL Limassol FC (CYP) / Qarabağ FK (AZE)
3 The New Saints FC (WAL) / FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
4 Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)

Unseeded
5 PFC CSKA-Sofia (BUL) / NK Osijek (CRO)
6 FC Paços de Ferreira (POR) / Larne FC (NIR)
7 Breidablik (ISL) / Aberdeen FC (SCO)
8 FK Čukarički (SRB) / Hammarby Fotboll (SWE)

GROUP 2

Seeded
1 KF Laçi (ALB) / RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
2 Stade Rennais FC (FRA)
3 FK Vojvodina (SRB) / LASK (AUT)
4 FC Spartak Trnava (SVK) / Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

Unseeded
5 Galatasaray A.Ş. (TUR) / St Johnstone FC (SCO)
6 Kolos Kovalivka (UKR) / FC Shakhter Karagandy (KAZ)
7 Rosenborg BK (NOR) / NK Domžale (SVN)
8 Vitesse (NED) / Dundalk FC (IRL)

GROUP 3

Seeded
1 KuPS Kuopio (FIN) / FC Astana (KAZ)
2 Bohemian FC (IRL) / PAOK FC (GRE)
3 FC Luzern (SUI) / Feyenoord (NED)
4 RFS (LVA) / KAA Gent (BEL)

Unseeded
5 IF Elfsborg (SWE) / FK Velež (BIH)
6 Raków Czestochowa (POL) / FC Rubin (RUS)
7 Hibernian FC (SCO) / HNK Rijeka (CRO)
8 1. FC Union Berlin (GER)

GROUP 4

Seeded
1FK Jablonec (CZE) / Celtic FC (SCO)
2 FC Sochi (RUS) / FK Partizan (SRB)
3 PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1926 (BUL) / F.C. Copenhagen (DEN)
4 AS Roma (ITA)
5 WKS Śląsk Wrocław (POL) / Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC (ISR)

Unseeded
6 SK Rapid Wien (AUT) / Anorthosis Famagusta FC (CYP)
7 FC Tobol Kostanay (KAZ) / MŠK Žilina (SVK)
8 CD Santa Clara (POR) / NK Olimpija Ljubljana (SVN)
9 Dinamo Batumi (GEO) / Sivasspor (TUR)
10 Trabzonspor AŞ (TUR) / Molde FK (NOR)

Road to Tirana: season calendar

Group stage draw: 27 August
Group stage: 16 & 30 September, 21 October, 4 & 25 November, 9 December

Knockout round play-off draw: 13 December
Knockout round play-offs: 17 & 24 February
Round of 16 draw: 25 February
Round of 16: 10 & 17 March
Quarter-finals & Semi-final draw: 18 March
Quarter-finals: 7 & 14 April
Semi-finals: 28 April & 5 May
Final: 25 May (National Arena, Tirana)

Special COVID rules 

Please be aware of the special rules applicable to the qualifying phase and play-offs of the competition due to COVID-19, which can be found here.

In regards to travelling fans being admitted to matches, more information can be found here.