UEFA Conference League: League phase draw

The league phase draw for the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League will be held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco from 14:30 CET on Friday 30 August.

LEAGUE PHASE DRAW
Number of teams involved: 36
Number of matches: 108 (18 matches per matchday; 6 matchdays in total)
Matchdays: 3 October 2024, 24 October 2024, 7 November 2024, 28 November 2024, 12 December 2024, and 19 December 2024
Kick-off times: 18:45 CET or 21:00 CET

DRAW PROCEDURE

Based on Articles 16 & 17 of the UEFA Conference League Regulations, the following draw procedure has been adopted by the UEFA Club Competitions Committee.

Match system 

All league phase matches are played in accordance with the league system, whereby each club plays six opponents in single-leg ties. Each club plays three home and three away matches.

Draw system and conditions

A draw, which may be conducted digitally, determines the pairings for the league phase. The 36 clubs are divided into six pots of six clubs. The pots are composed according to the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season (see Annex D).

The opponents of each team, as well as whether each match is played at home or away, are determined by means of a draw. Each team is drawn against one opponent from each of the six pots. For the purposes of the draw allocating whether each of those matches will be played at home or away, pots 1 and 2, pots 3 and 4, and pots 5 and 6 are paired and each team is drawn to play one opponent from each pairing of pots at home and the other away. In principle, teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other and each team may play against a maximum of two opponents from any other one association, subject to Paragraph 16.03.

The UEFA administration may determine alternative conditions for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee and may adapt any of the conditions of the draw to avoid deadlock situations and/or take into account any relevant constraints in light of decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee.

Draw system

The draw is executed partly manually, with balls physically drawn from a bowl, and partly digitally, through a designated automated software, as further explained in the procedure below. The whole draw process (digital and manual) is reviewed and checked by an appointed external auditor.

Pots

Pot 1
1. Chelsea FC (ENG)
2. F.C. Copenhagen (DEN)
3. KAA Gent (BEL)
4. ACF Fiorentina (ITA)
5. LASK (AUT)
6. Real Betis Balompié (ESP)

Pot 2
7. İstanbul Başakşehir FK (TUR)
8. Molde FK (NOR)
9. Legia Warszawa (POL)
10. 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (GER)
11. Djurgården (SWE)
12. APOEL FC (CYP)

Pot 3
13. SK Rapid (AUT)
14. Omonoia FC (CYP)
15. HJK Helsinki (FIN)
16. Vitória SC (POR)
17. FC Astana (KAZ)
18. NK Olimpija Ljubljana (SVN)

Pot 4
19. Cercle Brugge KSV (BEL)
20. Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)
21. The New Saints FC (WAL)
22. FC Lugano (SUI)
23. Heart of Midlothian FC (SCO)
24. FK Mladá Boleslav (CZE)

Pot 5
25. FC Petrocub (MDA)
26. FC St. Gallen 1879 (SUI)
27. Panathinaikos FC (GRE)
28. FK TSC (SRB)
29. FK Borac (BIH)
30. Jagiellonia Białystok (POL)

Pot 6
31. NK Celje (SVN)
32. Larne FC (NIR)
33. FC Dinamo-Minsk (BLR)
34. Pafos FC (CYP)
35. Víkingur Reykjavík (ISL)
36. FC Noah (ARM)

Draw procedure

Six bowls are prepared for the draw, one for each of the six draw pots. Each bowl comprises six balls containing the names of the teams forming the pot.

Pot 1
A ball is physically drawn at random from the relevant bowl and is opened to display the name of the team drawn.

Once the name of the team is displayed, the automated software randomly draws six opponents for this team, one from each pot (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6), including, for each opponent, whether they are played at home or away. The order of allocation of opponents starts with pot 1 and pot 2 (one opponent each), followed by pot 3 and pot 4 and then pot 5 and pot 6. The software draws the possible valid opponents from all pots respecting the above-mentioned draw conditions and ensuring that a valid allocation is made guaranteeing the full draw and match schedule in line with the competition calendar can be completed for all teams. This allocation by the software is made within a predefined time limit.

Once a valid allocation has been drawn by the software, the opponents and which matches are played at home or away will be revealed.

The procedure is then repeated for all remaining teams of pot 1.

While proceeding with the draw, a number of opponents will have already been drawn and directly displayed, so reducing the number of opponents to be drawn for the subsequent teams.

Pot 2 
As for pot 1, a ball is physically drawn at random from the relevant bowl and is opened to display the name of the team drawn.

The opponent of pot 1 for this team has already been determined during the draw for pot 1 teams.

The software therefore draws, with the same procedure as described for pot 1, one opponent for pot 2. In this regard, the software will take into account whether the match against the team of pot 1 is played at home or away when drawing the opponent of pot 2 to ensure that the draw conditions are respected. The software then continues to draw one opponent from pot 3 and pot 4 and then pot 5 and pot 6, including, for each opponent, whether they are played at home or away.

The procedure is then repeated for the remaining teams of pot 2.

Pot 3
The procedure is the same as for pot 1 and pot 2. Only opponents from pot 3 to pot 6 need to be drawn.

Pot 4
The procedure is the same as for the previous pots. Only opponents from pot 4 to pot 6 need to be drawn.

Pot 5
The procedure is the same as for the previous pots. Only opponents from pot 5 to pot 6 need to be drawn.

Pot 6
The procedure is the same as for the previous pots. Only opponents from pot 6 need to be drawn.

Draw explanation

A video explaining the draw procedure will be shown prior to the draw.

Calendar elaboration

Matches are played on Thursdays. In accordance with Paragraph 23.01 (b) of the competition regulations, the UEFA Administration decides the kick-off times. Furthermore, as per Paragraph 17.02 of the above-mentioned regulations a club, in principle, does not play more than two home or two away matches in a row, and each club plays one home match and one away match in the first two matchdays and the last two matchdays. If need be, however, the UEFA administration may derogate from these rules.

The calendar of all matches of the league phase will be available on Saturday 31 August.