40 national associations to be represented in new UEFA club competition league phases
Friday, August 30, 2024
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The 2024/25 season will see 108 clubs feature in the new-look UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, with 40 of UEFA's 55 member associations represented.
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The new era of UEFA's elite men's club competitions – the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League – will be the most inclusive yet, with a record 40 of 55 member associations set to feature in league phase in the 2024/25 season.
One of the objectives of the new format, with expanded fields of 36 teams in each competition, was to increase representation from across Europe, and this has already been achieved in the first season of the new-look league phase.
Among those 40 national associations, Wales and Northern Ireland will have a club in a major UEFA competition for the first time after The New Saints and Larne qualified for the league phase of the UEFA Conference League, in which they will play at least six games against teams from across the continent.
Bringing European football to new theatres
Following the establishment of the UEFA Conference League in 2021, the highest number of different nations represented in a single season of UEFA club competitions was 36, achieved in 2021/22 and 2022/23.
The new format introduced for the 2024/25 season and onwards guarantee places for 37 domestic league champions from across Europe – up from 34 in the previous cycle – and a new record has now been set with 40 associations to be represented in the current campaign.
The success of The New Saints and Larne makes Wales and Northern Ireland the 50th and 51st national associations to qualify for one of UEFA's elite men’s club competitions, with the UEFA Conference League continuing to offer a path into European club football for more countries.
Since its first season in 2021/22, the Conference League has welcomed nine further associations into UEFA men's club competitions for the first time: Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein and Lithuania.
Establishing a new elite competition has been crucial in bringing continental football to new countries, offering more players the chance to develop their careers on the biggest stages and more fans the opportunity to experience the thrill of European competition.
