Conference League knockout phase play-off draw: Gent face Real Betis, Víkingur R. to play Panathinaikos

The draw for the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League knockout phase play-off has been made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

What are the Conference League knockout phase play-off ties?

The kick-off times of the matches, which are scheduled to be played over two legs on 13 and 20 February 2025, will be announced on 31 January 2025. The teams listed first below will play the first leg at home.

Gent vs Real Betis
TSC vs Jagiellonia
Celje vs APOEL
Víkingur R. vs Panathinaikos*

Copenhagen vs Heidenheim
Molde vs Shamrock Rovers
Omonoia vs Pafos
Borac vs Olimpija

*The matches of these teams may be subject to a change of date and/or venue 

When are the knockout phase play-off games?

The knockout phase play-offs are scheduled to be played over the course of two weeks:

First legs: 13 February 2025
Second legs: 20 February 2025

However, the UEFA administration decides on match dates and fixture reversals on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the applicable principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.

If matches are impacted by stadium or city clashes, these will be resolved in accordance with the applicable principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.

What happens after the Conference League knockout round play-offs?

Winners of each tie advance to the round of 16, where they will join the top eight sides in the league phase of the Conference League.

How did the Conference League knockout phase play-off draw work?

Eight bowls were prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded teams placed in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league phase rankings.

The draw started with the unseeded teams, allocating each team from a pair of unseeded teams to one of the relevant pre-determined positions in the bracket, starting with the sides ranked 23/24 and finishing with those in 17/18.

One ball was taken from the bowl containing the two relevant ranked teams (i.e. the teams ranked 23 and 24) and opened to display the team. The first team drawn from this bowl was placed in their reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket. The other unseeded team of the pairing was then drawn and displayed, and allocated in the corresponding reserved spot on the green side of the bracket.

The same procedure was carried out with the remaining unseeded teams.

Once all the pairings of unseeded teams were drawn and assigned to an appropriate position on the bracket, the draw continued with the seeded teams, starting with the pairing ranked 15/16. The process was the same as described above for the unseeded teams, with the first team drawn from the relevant bowl allocated to the reserved designated spot on the silver side of the bracket and the second team on the green side.

The procedure was repeated for the remaining pairings, finishing with the teams ranked 9/10 to complete the pairings for the knockout round play-offs.